WASHINGTON—The House Thursday passed HR 620, the ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017, which credit unions are hopeful will be a first step in addressing the rash of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) lawsuits that are hitting CUs across the country.
Ahead of passage, lawmakers on the House floor clarified their intentions to address websites in the bill. Both NAFCU and CUNA, which have been working toward passage, praised the vote.
The legislation was introduced by Reps. Ted Poe. (R-TX), Scott Peters (D-CA), Ami Bera (D-CA), Ken Calvert (R-CA), Jackie Speier (D-CA) and Mike Conaway (R-TX).
“NAFCU would like to thank Reps. Poe and [Rob] Woodall and Chairman Goodlatte for listening to credit unions' concerns about unclear guidance under the ADA as it relates to website accessibility," said NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger. "This confusion has led to plaintiffs' attorneys targeting credit unions with meritless lawsuits, hindering the ability of credit unions to meet their members' needs.
"NAFCU and our members strongly support the protections of the ADA and efforts to ensure individuals with disabilities are not discriminated against and have equal access to financial services,” continued Berger. “We have maintained that this is best achieved through clear guidance and standards for website compliance, not through meritless and costly lawsuits. We appreciate the representatives who realized this challenge and sought to clarify it by supporting this bill."
CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle called the bill an “important step forward in addressing other litigation threats. It will ensure those protected by the ADA will continue to be protected but will take the right steps to curb predatory litigation that harms all consumers. CUNA is increasing our engagement with both legislators and the Department of Justice to see a solution that would protect credit unions and the members they serve from increasing threats of predatory litigation.”
Legal threats under the American’s Disabilities Act have affected credit unions more recently, specifically regarding confusion over how the ADA applies to website accessibility. Although this bill does not directly address the issue facing credit unions, CUNA said it is confident it is a step toward clarification.
The ADA Education and Reform Act would set conditions for filing civil actions over the failure to remove an architectural barrier to an existing public place by giving businesses time to come into compliance before a lawsuit can proceed, among other things.
During discussion on the bill, Poe and Woodall (R-GA) had a colloquy on the House floor to discuss website accessibility and asserted that in districts where the courts have determined that ADA applies to websites, HR 620 would also apply. The conversation clarified the congressional intent of the legislation and would allow those receiving demand letters related to website accessibility to have time to come into compliance.
"Because of this ambiguity, credit unions are in a bind," Woodall said. "They are being sued as if they are violating the law, but they have no framework for figuring out how to comply with the law or even if their websites are subject to the law."
Poe and Woodall also indicated they would work with the Department of Justice to further clarify the issue, NAFCU added.