Website-accessibility lawsuits under the Americans with Disabilities Act are filed against businesses of every size, from national retailers to single-location restaurants. The good news: the fixes that reduce legal risk are the same ones that make a site easier for every visitor to use — and most are cheap to build in from the start.
What the law says
ADA Title III (private businesses)
Title III of the ADA prohibits disability discrimination by "places of public accommodation" — stores, restaurants, hotels, professional offices, and many other businesses open to the public. The statute predates the web, and the Department of Justice has not issued a technical website rule for private businesses. However, DOJ's 2022 guidance states that businesses open to the public must make their websites accessible, and many courts have allowed website claims to proceed — particularly where the site is connected to a physical location. Courts disagree about purely online businesses, so outcomes depend on where a case is filed.
ADA Title II (state and local governments)
In April 2024, DOJ published a rule requiring state and local government websites and mobile apps to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA, with compliance dates set according to the size of the government entity. It does not apply to private businesses directly, but it is the clearest official signal of which standard DOJ considers appropriate — and contractors who build sites for public entities need to meet it. Check ADA.gov for the current compliance dates.
State laws
- California: the Unruh Civil Rights Act treats an ADA violation as a violation of state law and provides statutory damages of at least $4,000 per violation, which is why so many website claims are filed in California.
- New York and Florida are also high-volume jurisdictions for website-accessibility lawsuits. See the New York and Florida guides.
- Many states have their own accessibility standards for state agency websites; check your state guide if you sell to government.
WCAG 2.1 AA in plain English
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are organized around four principles — perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. For a typical business site, the requirements that matter most are:
- Text alternatives: meaningful images have descriptive alt text; decorative images have empty alt text (
alt=""). - Color contrast: at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text and key interface elements.
- Keyboard access: every link, button, menu, and form works with the keyboard alone, with a visible focus indicator and no keyboard traps.
- Forms: every field has a visible label; errors are described in text, not just color.
- Headings and structure: one clear
h1, logical heading order, real lists and tables, and landmark regions (header, nav, main, footer). - Media: captions for videos with speech; transcripts for audio; no autoplaying sound.
- Zoom and reflow: content works at 200% zoom and on a 320-pixel-wide screen without horizontal scrolling.
- Language and names: the page language is declared, links make sense out of context ("Download the menu" rather than "click here"), and buttons have accessible names.
WCAG 2.2 (published October 2023) adds criteria such as larger minimum target sizes and not obscuring focused elements. Targeting 2.2 AA for new builds covers 2.1 AA too.
Do accessibility overlays work?
Overlay widgets that promise one-line compliance do not fix underlying code problems, and lawsuits have been filed against sites that used them. In 2025 the FTC finalized an order requiring one overlay vendor to pay $1 million over claims that its product could make any website compliant. Treat overlays as, at best, a supplement — not a substitute for an accessible build.
A practical accessibility plan
- Choose an accessible foundation. Whatever platform you use, test its demo pages with the keyboard and an automated checker before committing.
- Run automated tests. Free tools such as WAVE, axe DevTools, and Lighthouse catch missing alt text, contrast problems, and missing labels — roughly the easy third of issues.
- Test manually. Tab through every page, complete every form, and try a screen reader (VoiceOver on Mac/iOS, NVDA on Windows, TalkBack on Android).
- Fix the money paths first. Booking, checkout, contact, and menu or price pages are where lawsuits focus.
- Publish an accessibility statement with a phone number and email for people who hit barriers, and respond quickly.
- Re-test after changes. New plugins, embeds, and content updates are the most common source of regressions.
Industry hot spots
- Restaurants: PDF-only menus and inaccessible online-ordering widgets.
- Hotels and lodging: ADA regulations require reservation systems to describe accessible features and allow booking of accessible rooms on the same terms as other rooms.
- E-commerce: product images without alt text, unlabeled variant selectors, and inaccessible checkout steps.
- Healthcare and professional services: inaccessible appointment booking and intake forms.
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Is website accessibility legally required for small businesses?
If your business is open to the public, ADA Title III can apply to your website, and courts in many parts of the country have allowed such claims to proceed. There is no small-business exemption from the ADA, though remedies and court interpretations vary by jurisdiction.
What WCAG level should my website meet?
WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the most widely used benchmark in settlements and is the standard in the Department of Justice's 2024 rule for state and local governments. WCAG 2.2 AA is a good target for new sites.
Will an accessibility overlay plugin protect me from lawsuits?
No tool can guarantee that. Overlays don't fix underlying code issues, sites using them have been sued, and the FTC has acted against an overlay vendor for overstating what its product could do.
What does an accessibility statement need to include?
There is no fixed format. A good statement names the standard you aim for (such as WCAG 2.1 AA), notes any known limitations, and gives a phone number and email so people can get help or report a barrier.