Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Digital Accessibility topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Asheville City staff warn of DOJ digital-accessibility deadline and potential private lawsuits
Summary
City staff told the Asheville mayor and council that a 2024 Department of Justice ruling requires state and local governments to make websites, apps and social media accessible to people with disabilities, that Asheville’s compliance deadline is "next Friday, the 24th" (month/year not specified), and that noncompliance could trigger DOJ enforcement and private lawsuits seeking damages and attorneys’ fees.
A city staff member told the Asheville mayor and council this evening that a Department of Justice ruling requires state and local governments to make their digital offerings — including websites, mobile apps and social media pages — accessible to people with disabilities, and warned that the city faces an imminent compliance deadline and possible legal exposure.
The staff member said staff have been working on accessibility for about two years and described the rule as broad in scope. “Going forward, all state and local governments must become fully digitally accessible for those individuals with disabilities,” the staff member said. They added that the city’s deadline is “next Friday, the 24th,” a date the transcript records without a month or year specified.
Why it matters: the staff member said the rule will change the appearance, usability and function of city websites, social media pages and apps and will also apply to pages linked from those platforms. The staff member said accessibility is defined under Americans with Disabilities Act standards and that exceptions are limited and narrow; the most likely exception the city might use is an "archived" category for older, unchanging records.
The staff member warned about enforcement risks. “There were specific consequences included by the Department of Justice for any non-compliance,” they said, and added that private individuals may file lawsuits seeking compliance, compensatory damages and attorneys’ fees — a combination the staff member said could incentivize law firms to seek out violations.
The presentation identified Dawa Hitch, the city’s communications public engagement director, as the staff member who will provide further details about how the city will operationalize the changes. No formal action or vote was recorded in the transcript excerpt provided.
Next steps described in the remarks included further explanation from Dawa Hitch about how the city will use archived exceptions and how staff plan to meet the deadline; the transcript did not record a council vote or a timetable for specific fixes.
