Online businesses, including financial institutions, banks, and retailers, have faced a wave of demand letters and lawsuits alleging that their websites are inaccessible to the visually impaired and/or hearing impaired in violation of Title III of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (the “ADA”).

Despite the fact that the ADA and its implementing regulations do not currently address website accessibility, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has made clear its position that the ADA applies to websites. While the DOJ is still in the process of developing regulations for website accessibility, which are not expected to be finalized until 2018, at the earliest, it is widely expected to adopt an industry standard for website accessibility known as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 level AA.

A final rule was recently announced requiring federal government websites and electronic content of federal agencies to conform to WCAG 2.0 AA within one year. The federal government’s adoption of WCAG 2.0 AA for its own websites makes it even more likely that the DOJ will adopt the same standards for websites of public accommodations.

WCAG 2.0 is based on four principles: Websites should be (1) perceivable, (2) operable, (3) understandable, and (4) robust. The question businesses with an online presence need to ask themselves is: What does that mean as a practical matter for our business website?