RE: Section 508 is PART of the ADA?

AT&T is wrong, but there is a relationship. Section 508 of the
Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998 was an amended section for the
Rehabilitation Act, which predates the ADA and targets the government.
The ADA refers to the Rehabilitation Act, so I've heard some legal
experts say that things that the Rehabilitation Act targets are included
by reference. The ADA and Section 508 have the same body for defining
what is accessible -- the US Access Board. 

I've also heard some, within the DOJ, opine that the ADA's "effective
communications" clearly includes web communications where a company
chooses to make the web a primary method of communicating. For example,
some e-commerce sites no longer provide phone numbers or catalogs, and
don't have physical store-fronts. To comply with the ADA, they need to
provide accessible, effective communications. The way that is endorsed
under US law is to follow Section 508's guidelines. 

I'm not a lawyer, so standard disclaimers apply -- don't take my
repetition of legal experts to be a statement of law, but as a starting
place if you ever get to the point where you need to talk with one.

Richard Bowers
Intelix, Inc.
rbowers@intelixinc.com


-----Original Message-----
From: RUST Randal [mailto:RRust@COVANSYS.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2002 8:15 AM
To: WAI (E-mail)
Subject: Section 508 is PART of the ADA?


The AT&T web accessibility guidelines state very matter-of-factly that
Section 508 requirements are part of the Americans with Disabilities
Act?

http://www.att.com/style/wc_access.html#ada

I have never seen this before....anywhere.  Have I just completely
missed this, or is AT&T making an incorrect assumption?

Randal Rust
Covansys, Inc.
Columbus, OH

Received on Wednesday, 27 February 2002 09:49:52 UTC