Michigan

Target Corporation Settles Website Discrimination Lawsuit

Target Corporation has agreed to pay $6 million in damages and retool its website to make it fully accessible to blind customers as part of a class action settlement that was filed today. The case was filed in 2006 in San Francisco federal court by the National Federation of the Blind on behalf of blind people who said they couldn't access the site.

There are specialized keyboards that blind people can use to operate computers. Certain software can be used to convert websites and documents into Braille writing and audible speech. But, these technologies won't work if a website isn't programmed correctly, which is what the National Federation of the Blind claimed about Target's website.

The case has been on the radar screen of many major online businesses because the core issue concerns whether the protections of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act can be applied to a business's website. In another similar case, the federal 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Southwest Airlines' website was not subject to the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. However, the plaintiffs in Target case successfully argued that the close link between Target's real world stores and its website made the website a "place of public accommodation," which triggers the protections of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

This case is having repercussions around cyberspace. Even before Target settled its case, Amazon.com and Radio Shack made agreements with national blindness organizations to improve their websites for customers with visual impairments.

There are a number of legal issues that must be addressed when a Michigan business publishes a website. It is crucial to involve a Michigan business lawyer who understands the Internet and e-commerce issues in order to fully protect a Michigan's business's virtual presence.

Full post as published by Michigan Business Lawyer Blog on August 27, 2008 (boomark / email).