The ADA and websites: a law with no web standard for businesses, enforced by lawsuit, and one new rule for governments.

Title III forbids discrimination on the basis of disability by anyone who owns, leases or operates a place of public accommodation.

full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations 42 U.S.C. § 12182(a), United States Code, 2024 edition.

The statute lists twelve categories of private business that count as public accommodations, among them shops, restaurants, hotels, banks, and service establishments of many kinds.

The following private entities are considered public accommodations for purposes of this subchapter 42 U.S.C. § 12181(7), United States Code, 2024 edition.

The Department of Justice's regulation defines a place of public accommodation as a facility operated by a private entity in one of those categories whose operations affect commerce. Whether a website alone is such a place is a question the courts have answered differently.

a facility operated by a private entity whose operations affect commerce 28 CFR 36.104, definition of place of public accommodation, eCFR, section last amended 19 December 2016.

Title II applies to public entities: state and local governments and their departments and agencies. It does not apply to private businesses.

any State or local government 42 U.S.C. § 12131(1), United States Code, 2024 edition.

For businesses, the Department of Justice has no regulation setting out detailed standards for websites.

The Department of Justice does not have a regulation setting out detailed standards Department of Justice, Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA, 18 March 2022.

The Department's position is that businesses have flexibility in how they comply, and that WCAG and the Section 508 standards are helpful guidance rather than requirements.

Businesses and state and local governments have flexibility in how they comply Department of Justice, Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA, 18 March 2022.

The duty that reaches websites is the duty to provide auxiliary aids and services, which is excused where it would fundamentally alter what is offered or would be an undue burden.

or would result in an undue burden 42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(2)(A)(iii), United States Code, 2024 edition.

For state and local governments, a rule of April 2024 requires web content and mobile apps to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA.

Accessibility of Web Information and Services of State and Local Government Entities 89 FR 31320, final rule, 24 April 2024.

The rule's technical standard is WCAG 2.1 Level AA, incorporated by reference.

Level A and Level AA success criteria and conformance requirements specified in WCAG 2.1 28 CFR 35.200(b)(1), eCFR, section last amended 20 April 2026.

The rule's dates were pushed back a year by an interim final rule in April 2026. Governments serving fifty thousand people or more must comply from 26 April 2027.

Beginning April 26, 2027, a public entity, other than a special district government 28 CFR 35.200(b)(1), as amended 20 April 2026, eCFR, section last amended 20 April 2026.

Smaller governments and special districts must comply from 26 April 2028.

Beginning April 26, 2028, a public entity with a total population of less than 50,000 28 CFR 35.200(b)(2), as amended 20 April 2026, eCFR, section last amended 20 April 2026.

The April 2026 rule that moved the dates was published as an interim final rule with a request for comments, so it could change again.

extended from April 24, 2026, to April 26, 2027 91 FR 20902, interim final rule, 20 April 2026.

Anyone who is discriminated against may sue under Title III. The remedy in a private suit is an order to stop or to change, not money.

The remedies and procedures set forth in section 2000a–3(a) of this title 42 U.S.C. § 12188(a)(1), United States Code, 2024 edition.

Those remedies are preventive relief: a permanent or temporary injunction, a restraining order, or another order.

a civil action for preventive relief, including an application for a permanent or temporary injunction 42 U.S.C. § 2000a-3(a), United States Code, 2024 edition.

A court may award the winning side its attorney's fees. This is what makes web accessibility suits worth bringing for the plaintiff's lawyer even without damages.

may allow the prevailing party, other than the United States, a reasonable attorney's fee 42 U.S.C. § 12205, United States Code, 2024 edition.

The Attorney General may also sue, and in such a suit a court may award money to the people harmed and civil penalties.

including monetary damages to persons aggrieved when requested by the Attorney General 42 U.S.C. § 12188(b)(2)(B), United States Code, 2024 edition.

The statute sets civil penalties for a Department of Justice suit at up to fifty thousand dollars for a first violation and one hundred thousand for a later one, figures the regulations adjust for inflation.

not exceeding $50,000 for a first violation 42 U.S.C. § 12188(b)(2)(C), United States Code, 2024 edition.

After inflation adjustment, the maximum for penalties assessed after 3 July 2025 is 118,225 dollars for a first violation and 236,451 dollars for a subsequent one.

For civil penalties assessed after July 3, 2025 28 CFR 85.5, table, rows for 28 CFR 36.504(a)(3), eCFR, section last amended 3 July 2025.

The two adjusted figures appear in that table.

118,225 28 CFR 85.5, table, eCFR, section last amended 3 July 2025.

State law can add money where federal law does not. California's Unruh Civil Rights Act treats a violation of the ADA as a violation of state law.

A violation of the right of any individual under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act California Civil Code § 51(f), current text, read 16 September 2026.

Under that Act a plaintiff recovers actual damages and in any case at least four thousand dollars per offence, plus attorney's fees.

but in no case less than four thousand dollars ($4,000) California Civil Code § 52(a), current text, read 16 September 2026.

Private clubs and religious organisations, including places of worship, are outside Title III.

religious organizations or entities controlled by religious organizations, including places of worship 42 U.S.C. § 12187, United States Code, 2024 edition.

There is no exemption for small businesses by headcount or revenue in Title III. Size enters only as a factor in whether a step is an undue burden, defined as significant difficulty or expense.

would result in an undue burden, i.e., significant difficulty or expense 28 CFR 36.303(a), eCFR, section last amended 18 January 2017.

The factors for undue burden include the overall financial resources of the business and the number of people it employs.

The overall financial resources of the site or sites involved in the action 28 CFR 36.104, definition of undue burden, eCFR, section last amended 19 December 2016.

By contrast, the employment title of the Act does have a headcount threshold: it covers employers with fifteen or more employees. That threshold does not apply to Title III.

who has 15 or more employees for each working day 42 U.S.C. § 12111(5)(A), United States Code, 2024 edition.