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Thanks to the generous support of our donors, Disability Rights Advocates is pleased to make available on our website and in our offices the work of artists from the National Institute of Art & Disabilities (NIAD). NIAD provides an art program that promotes creativity, independence, dignity, and community integration for people with developmental and other disabilities.

National Federation of the Blind v. Target

Background

On February 6, 2006, Bruce F. Sexton, Jr., a blind Californian, the NFB of California, and the National Federation of the Blind filed suit against Target alleging that its website was not accessible to people with disabilities using screen access technology. (Two other individual plaintiffs, Melissa Williamson and James P. Marks, were later added to the complaint.) Screen access technology (such as JAWS for Windows by Freedom Scientific and WindowEyes by GW Micro) converts documents, web pages, and other text on the computer screen into synthesized speech or Braille, depending on the preference of the user. If Web sites are improperly coded, however, they cannot be read by screen access technology and blind people cannot access the functionality of the site. The lawsuit alleged that Target had not made the minimum changes necessary to its Web site to make the site compatible with screen access technology and to allow blind users to access the site to purchase products, redeem gift cards, find Target stores, and perform other functions available to sighted customers. The NFB alleged that this violated the Americans With Disabilities Act, the California Unruh Civil Rights Act, and the California Disabled Persons Act. On October 2, 2007, Judge Marilyn Hall Patel of the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California certified the case as a class action on behalf of two classes of plaintiffs: a nationwide class of “all legally blind individuals in the United States who have attempted to access Target.com and as a result have been denied access to the enjoyment of goods and services offered in Target stores” and a California subclass of “all legally blind individuals in California who have attempted to access Target.com.” The agreement that has just been reached by the NFB and Target settles the action as to both of these classes.

Terms of the agreement

• Target has, in consultation with the National Federation of the Blind, determined the steps that need to be taken to make its Web site accessible to the blind and incorporated NFB’s recommendations into Target’s internal guidelines for Web accessibility.
• The National Federation of the Blind will monitor Target’s progress in making the Target Web site accessible; provide training to Target employees responsible for its Web site; and analyze complaints of guests at Target.com regarding the accessibility of the Web site and, if necessary, help Target to address those complaints.
• By February 28, 2009, Target.com will be fully accessible – meaning that from that point forward, all information and transactions available to sighted people on Target.com will be fully accessible to blind people with a substantially equivalent ease of use.
• When Target has taken all necessary steps to make its Web site accessible, the National Federation of the Blind will grant Target.com its Nonvisual Access (NVA) Certification, and Target may display the NFB-NVA Web Certification seal on Target.com.
• Target will place $6 million in an interest-bearing account to be paid to members of the California class who submit valid claims. Each claimant will receive $3,500 or an equal pro rata share of this damages fund, depending on the number of claimants and the availability of funds. Individuals may make up to two claims based on separate incidents for a total of $7,000.
• Target will pay $20,000 to a nonprofit corporation set up by Bruce Sexton, the original named plaintiff, for the purpose of establishing the California Center for the Blind, a rehabilitation and training center for blind individuals.
• The National Federation of the Blind is entitled to reasonable attorney’s fees and costs, but the exact amount of said fees and costs has not yet been determined.

Files Available for Downloading

Please see www.nfbtargetlawsuit.com for online interactive claims submission

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