adminCUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle is encouraging credit unions to protect themselves from predatory litigation stemming from the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and recommending resources to help. A number of credit unions have been subject to ADA-related lawsuits in recent months, and CUNA is working on a solution with Congress and federal agencies.
In the message, Nussle recommended credit unions review whether their website follows Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, and outlines the steps CUNA is taking.
“The Department of Justice (DOJ) began considering developing regulations to address this topic over seven years ago but never completed the process. Since there is now an absence of clear standards, CUNA and the Leagues are seeking to resolve this matter with the support of Congress at the DOJ,” Nussle said. “At our urging, there’s currently a bipartisan letter circulating in the House of Representatives calling on the DOJ to finalize and issue the regulation. Short of that, we are also seeking immediate guidance.
“And, just yesterday, CUNA sent a letter in support of legislation that seeks to address other predatory litigation under the ADA, and CUNA has asked for it to be expanded to address our concerns surrounding website accessibility litigation,” Nussle added.
CUNA’s CompBlog, located within CUNA’s Compliance Community, features a recent entry outlining WCAG 2.0 details, guidelines that are a technical standard written for web developers. Questions can also be directed to CUNA’s compliance staff at cucomply@cuna.com.
