ADA Demand Letters: What They Are and How to Respond

What is an ADA demand letter?*

An ADA demand letter is an official complaint alleging that a business does not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. For example, a letter could claim that a website is not accessible to blind or low-vision users who use screen readers, violating ADA Title III.

These letters mandate that the company take action to fix any accessibility barriers claimed, or face potential legal action, such as a lawsuit or complaint filed in federal court.

Actions requested may include:

• Remediate the website to meet WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) standards
• Pay a settlement or attorney’s fees
• Use accessibility monitoring or reporting moving forward

If you’d like to watch our webinar on this topic, follow this link.

The difference between ADA demand letters and lawsuits

Demand letters are formal notices requesting that you take action. “Fix this before we take you to court!” The courts aren’t involved…yet. Demand letters are common with ADA claims to try to resolve issues before litigation.

You can respond, negotiate, or ignore these letters. However, we highly discourage ignoring these letters!

On the other hand, lawsuits are court-filed official legal actions. They will require you to respond by a stated deadline. If you fail to respond, this can result in a default judgment against you.

Regardless, you should respond to any demand letters and communications about accessibility. Take them as a chance to learn about your audience and improve your website for everyone.

Is my demand letter fraudulent?

Unfortunately, fraudulent ADA demand letters exist and are sent by individuals looking for a quick payout. Some law firms spam identical letters to small businesses, targeting websites. However, do not assume your letter is “drive-by-litigation”!

If there is a chance a user with disabilities genuinely encountered barriers, that’s worth a measured response. Letters can be a legitimate civil rights enforcement tool.

Some signs your letter could be fraudulent include:

• They don’t identify clearly what’s wrong or how it affects users
• An obvious goal of a quick settlement (money grab), not meaningful accessibility improvement
• Vague claims with no specifics
• Pressure to settle quickly for a financial sum in the thousands
• Research provides proof that this plaintiff has sued many companies using boilerplate language

These predatory demand letters can undermine accessibility advocacy and scare business owners into writing checks without improving access.

How to respond to a predatory ADA demand letter

First off, don’t panic and don’t pay anything right away.

Engage legal counsel immediately, preferably someone familiar with ADA and web accessibility litigation. If you’re a RAMP user, get in touch with us! You can evaluate whether the claims have merit by running an automated scan or performing a manual spot-check.

Take these steps:

• Respond firmly but professionally, ideally through an attorney
• Acknowledge receipt of the demand letter
• Ask for clarification on any allegations, or ask for the accusations if they’re not stated
• Note that you’re addressing compliance and accessibility in good faith (and you are if you’re a RAMP user!)
• Avoid admitting liability or agreeing to any settlement before assessing risk

If specific accessibility barriers are reported, remediate them by following the steps in the next section.

Responding to a legitimate letter

Take it seriously, but don’t jump to the worst-case scenario. Take responding as an opportunity to win back business.

If you can, we recommend immediately engaging legal counsel and looping in a lawyer to help you structure your response. If you’re a RAMP user, also let the Accessible Web team know. (And if you’re not, we can get you on the right path to working towards an appropriate accessibility resolution.)

Acknowledging the concern as legitimate and expressing a willingness to remediate the problem will go a long way.

Some things to keep in mind in a reply:

• Stay respectful and professional
• State that you’re committed to accessibility and investigating the issues raised
• Ask for more info if needed, you want to understand the experience as best as you can
• Make steps and state you’re working toward an appropriate resolution.
  • Schedule an internal or third-party accessibility review (ideally WCAG 2.1 AA or 2.2)
  • Start accessibility training
  • Of course, if your team can, fix the barriers

Avoiding demand letters altogether

Ideally, you want to prevent ADA demand letters entirely.

Sign up for RAMP and follow the checklist in the Compliance Center. Accessible Web’s tool allows you to take bite-sized actions to align with accessibility regulations. You can start this process within minutes. From automatic logging of your accessibility work to in-depth manual audit instructions, we’ll meet you wherever you are on your accessibility journey.

*Disclaimer: We are not lawyers, and this is not legal advice.