PLANO, Texas–The Cornerstone Credit Union League has launched a new compliance resource page in response to lawsuits being filed against credit unions over their websites and accessibility under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The league noted that like credit unions in other parts of the country, CUs within its three-state membership have been receiving “threatening demand letters from lawyers…Therefore, all credit unions must step up their efforts to protect themselves from predatory litigators seeking to profit from the ambiguities in the ADA's website accessibility requirements.”
The resources being made available to Cornerstone credit unions is behind the firewall and is limited to member CUs.
"To date, credit unions have made their physical branches accessible, including ATMs; however, some credit unions have overlooked their websites," said Cornerstone SVP Regulatory Compliance Counsel Suzanne Yashewski, in a statement first published by the league. "In light of the predatory litigation being attempted now, which could threaten a credit union's service to its members, credit unions must take a proactive approach to prevent opportunists from capitalizing on the ADA law's vagaries. While we work toward establishing permanent solutions, the ADA website compliance page should offer some good direction and resources."
The Cornerstone league is also hosting a one-hour webinar on Jan. 18, from 10 to 11 a.m. (CT) on the issue.
As CUToday.info reported here, the Pennsylvania Credit Union Association has sent a cease-and-desist letter to California-based Pacific Trial Attorneys demanding it stop sending threatening letters to credit unions in the state related to ADA and websites.