Does Your Existing Workforce Have Equal Web Access to Your Company’s Digital Assets?

Even though there are several articles regarding equal opportunities for people with disabilities, many companies take a step back when it comes to hiring them. They might be seen commenting on public forums that hiring people with disabilities is the right approach, but they don’t practice what they preach. Did you know the Department of Labor recommends that 7% of your workforce must comprise people with disabilities? However, only 13% of American companies adhere to that benchmark. 

If your company is not one of the 13% then you do not realize the advantages and legal implications for hiring employees with disabilities. In the last few years, there has been a noticeable shift in the civil rights reserved for people with disabilities, especially regarding digital accessibility. There has been a recent flood of lawsuits against companies that violate Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act in their digital presence.

Most of these lawsuits are from consumers who are not able to access a website to purchase products and services or obtain information. However, some legal allegations also revolve around title I of the ADA that requires business owners to offer equal employment opportunities to people with disabilities. Some of these lawsuits claim that even though companies have taken care of website accessibility on their business front, they have failed to provide the same opportunities on their employment page. 

Other than legal implications, your human resource department should also realize the disadvantages of neglecting employees with disabilities. Lack of website accessibility for existing employees at the workplace can result in reduced morale and productivity. Therefore your HR department should ensure web accessibility on two fronts.

• Ensuring that the company’s internal web presence and software are optimized for accessibility.
• Making the hiring website accessible for job seekers with disabilities.

Website Accessibility for Existing Employees

The title I of the ADA states that companies with 15 employees or more must provide reasonable accommodations for their employees living with disabilities. That means any internal websites and digital communications must be optimized for accessibility. Many business owners would see this as an extra expense and might not be willing to spend thousands of dollars on it. 

Companies do not need to burn a hole in their pocket to purchase an ADA compliant software. Nor do they need to hire website developers to make the changes to their existing digital content. AI-powered web accessibility solutions like Level Access and accessiBe can highlight all the necessary changes required on the website simply by adding a few lines of JavaScript. The software is fully automated and updates and tests all fresh content for website accessibility every day or so. 

Web accessibility software also has an accessibility interface that makes your company’s internal and external websites accessible to employees with disabilities. Different employees might have different types of disabilities. That’s why the interface has different profiles that can adjust the website to suit every employee’s needs. The interface also facilitates the use of various kinds of assistive technologies such as screen readers, reading assistants, and Braille keyboards. For employees with cognitive disabilities such as autism or dyslexia, the fonts, images, and navigation gets modified or enhanced, so that your workforce can access the contents. 

How HR Can Ensure Web Accessibility

Your HR department should instruct managers to collect data from your employees regarding the problems they are facing while trying to access your internal and external websites. The first step should be to audit your website to find existing web accessibility issues with a web accessibility checker like aCe or WAVE, where you can find out the present accessibility challenges that an employee with a disability might face. 

The audit will present an elaborate report explaining the issues and give your website scores for each test. You can also download the report and share it with your managers. Your managers can speak to your employees and cross-check if it is accurate. 

The next step would be to implement the software so that your website complies with the ADA and WCAG 2.1 guidelines. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are the best way to ensure that your website is accessible to employees with disabilities. 

Even though making your website accessible to employees with disabilities might seem like a choice right now, it won’t be within a few years. The latest changes that are due to be made to the ADA will ensure that website accessibility is mandatory for all internal and external digital presence. That’s why it is wise to be prudent now than to regret it later.