II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4998 

To establish uniform accessibility standards for websites and applications 

of employers, employment agencies, labor organizations, joint labor-management committees, public entities, public accommodations, testing entities, and commercial providers, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 28, 2022 

Ms. DUCKWORTH (for herself, Mr. CASEY, Mr. SCHATZ, and Mr. MARKEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To establish uniform accessibility standards for websites and 

applications of employers, employment agencies, labor 

organizations, joint labor-management committees, public 

entities, public accommodations, testing entities, and 

commercial providers, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Websites and Software 

5 Applications Accessibility Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Section 2(b)(1) of the Americans with Dis2 abilities Act of 1990 states that the Act provides ‘‘a 

3 clear and comprehensive national mandate for the 

4 elimination of discrimination against individuals with 

5 disabilities’’ (42 U.S.C. 12101(b)(1)). 

6 (2) In 1990, websites and applications were es7 sentially nonexistent, but Congress made clear that 

8 the ADA ‘‘should keep pace with the rapidly chang9 ing technology of the times’’ (H.R. Rep. No. 101– 

10 485, pt. 2, at 381 (1990)), as reprinted in 1990 

11 U.S.C.C.A.N. 303, 391). 

12 (3) Section 102 of the ADA (42 U.S.C. 12112), 

13 section 202 of the ADA (42 U.S.C. 12132), and sec14 tion 302 of the ADA (42 U.S.C. 12182) broadly 

15 prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability in 

16 regard to employment, services, programs, or activi17 ties of public entities, and of goods, services, facili18 ties, privileges, advantages, and accommodations of 

19 any place of public accommodation, respectively. 

20 (4) The Department of Justice has promulgated 

21 regulations to address the intersection of the ADA 

22 and emerging technologies, including the obligation 

23 to ensure effective communication with and by indi24 viduals with disabilities by using technologies such 

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1 aided transcription, open and closed captioning, 

2 audio description, videophones, captioned telephones, 

3 screen reader software, optical readers, and tele4 phone systems that interact properly with internet5 based relay systems. 

6 (5) The activities of a vast number of ADA-cov7 ered entities now occur in whole or in part through 

8 websites and applications, a shift that has been ac9 celerated by a global pandemic. The digital economy 

10 accounts for nearly 10 percent of the United States 

11 gross domestic product, and 85 percent of United 

12 States adults visit the internet at least once per day. 

13 (6) Many entities, including those covered by 

14 the ADA, rely on third-party technology providers to 

15 deliver goods and services via websites and applica16 tions, yet these websites and applications are often 

17 created and developed in a manner that is inacces18 sible to individuals with disabilities. 

19 (7) Despite the ADA’s clear language covering 

20 all services, programs, and activities of public enti21 ties, all goods, services, facilities, privileges, advan22 tages, and accommodations of public accommoda23 tions, and all terms, conditions, and privileges of em24 ployment and certain actions of employers, including 

25 when conducted through websites and applications, 


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1 most websites and applications contain significant 

2 barriers for individuals with disabilities. 

3 (8) When Congress enacted the ADA in 1990, 

4 Congress intended for the ADA to keep pace with 

5 rapidly changing technology. The Department of 

6 Justice has rightly acknowledged that the ADA re7 quires covered entities to ensure that their websites 

8 are accessible to individuals with disabilities. 

9 (9) Some courts have misconstrued the ADA, 

10 saying the ADA does not cover websites despite the 

11 clear language of the ADA’s provisions. 

12 (10) Without equal access to websites and ap13 plications, many individuals with disabilities are 

14 treated as second-class citizens and are excluded 

15 from equal participation in and equal access to all 

16 aspects of society. 

17 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act— 

18 (1) to affirm that the ADA and this Act require 

19 that websites and applications used by any covered 

20 entity to communicate or interact with applicants, 

21 employees, participants, customers, or other mem22 bers of the public be readily accessible to and use23 able by individuals with disabilities, whether the en24 tity has a physical location or is digital only; 


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1 (2) to require the Department of Justice and 

2 the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to 

3 set and enforce standards for websites and applica4 tions and to periodically update such standards; 

5 (3) to address and remedy the systemic nation6 wide problem of inaccessible websites and applica7 tions that exclude individuals with disabilities from 

8 equal participation in and equal access to all aspects 

9 of society; and 

10 (4) to create effective mechanisms to respond to 

11 emerging technologies and to ensure that such tech12 nologies do not impair the rights and abilities of in13 dividuals with disabilities to participate in all aspects 

14 of society. 

15 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this Act: 

17 (1) ACCESSIBLE.—The term ‘‘accessible’’ or 

18 ‘‘accessibility’’, used with respect to a website or ap19 plication, means a perceivable, operable, understand20 able, and robust website or application that enables 

21 individuals with disabilities to access the same infor22 mation as, to engage in the same interactions as, to 

23 communicate and to be understood as effectively as, 

24 and to enjoy the same services as are offered to, 

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1 pendence, and same ease of use as, individuals with2 out disabilities. 

3 (2) ACCESSIBILITY REGULATIONS.—The term 

4 ‘‘accessibility regulations’’ means the regulations 

5 issued under section 5 in accordance with this Act. 

6 (3) ADA.—The term ‘‘ADA’’ means the Ameri7 cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 

8 et seq.). 

9 (4) APPLICATION.—The term ‘‘application’’ 

10 means software that is designed to run on a device, 

11 including a smartphone, tablet, self-service kiosk, 

12 wearable technology item, or laptop or desktop com13 puter or another device, including a device devised 

14 after the date of enactment of this Act, and that is 

15 designed to perform, or to help the user perform, a 

16 specific task. 

17 (5) COMMERCIAL PROVIDER.—The term ‘‘com18 mercial provider’’ means any entity, including a pub19 lic or private entity— 

20 (A) whose operations affect commerce; and 

21 (B) that designs, develops, constructs, al22 ters, modifies, or adds an application or website 

23 for a covered entity (including a covered entity 

24 described in subparagraph (A) that takes such 


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1 an action for the covered entity’s product) for 

2 covered use. 

3 (6) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

4 means the Equal Employment Opportunity Commis5 sion. 

6 (7) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en7 tity’’ means an employment entity, public entity, 

8 public accommodation, or testing entity. 

9 (8) COVERED USE.—The term ‘‘covered use’’ 

10 means— 

11 (A) use by a public entity to provide a 

12 service, program, or activity, or information re13 lated to such service, program, or activity, cov14 ered under title II of the ADA (42 U.S.C. 

15 12131 et seq.), section 504 of the Rehabilita16 tion Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), or section 

17 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable 

18 Care Act (42 U.S.C. 1811), to an applicant, 

19 participant, or other member of the public; 

20 (B) use by a public accommodation or test21 ing entity to provide a good, service, facility, 

22 privilege, advantage, or accommodation, or in23 formation related to such good, service, facility, 

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1 less of whether the public accommodation or 

2 testing entity owns, operates, or utilizes a phys3 ical location for covered use; or 

4 (C) use by an employment entity in deter5 mining or conducting job application proce6 dures, hiring, advancement, or discharge of em7 ployees, employee compensation, job training, or 

8 other term, condition, or privilege of employ9 ment, for employees or applicants to become 

10 employees. 

11 (9) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

12 means the Department of Justice. 

13 (10) DISABILITY.—The term ‘‘disability’’ has 

14 the meaning given the term in section 3 of the ADA 

15 (42 U.S.C. 12102). 

16 (11) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ has 

17 the meaning given the term in section 101 of the 

18 ADA (42 U.S.C. 12111). 

19 (12) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘employer’’ has 

20 the meaning given the term in section 101 of the 

21 ADA (42 U.S.C. 12111). 

22 (13) EMPLOYMENT AGENCY.—The term ‘‘em23 ployment agency’’ has the meaning given the term in 

24 section 701 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

25 U.S.C. 2000e). 


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1 (14) EMPLOYMENT ENTITY.—The term ‘‘em2 ployment entity’’ means an employer, employment 

3 agency, labor organization, or joint labor-manage4 ment committee. 

5 (15) INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

6 TECHNOLOGY.—The term ‘‘information and commu7 nication technology’’— 

8 (A) means— 

9 (i) any equipment or interconnected 

10 system or subsystem of equipment, used in 

11 the automatic acquisition, storage, anal12 ysis, evaluation, manipulation, manage13 ment, movement, control, display, switch14 ing, interchange, transmission, or reception 

15 of data or information; and 

16 (ii) other equipment or technology, or 

17 another system or process, for which the 

18 principal function is the creation, manipu19 lation, storage, display, receipt, or trans20 mission of electronic data and information, 

21 as well as any associated content; and 

22 (B) includes computers and peripheral 

23 equipment, information kiosks and transaction 

24 machines, telecommunications equipment, cus25 tomer premises equipment, multifunction office 


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1 machines, software, applications, websites, vid2 eos, and electronic documents. 

3 (16) JOINT LABOR-MANAGEMENT COM4 MITTEE.—The term ‘‘joint labor-management com5 mittee’’ means a labor management committee es6 tablished pursuant to section 205A of the Labor 

7 Management Relations Act, 1947 (29 U.S.C. 175a) 

8 and engaged in commerce. 

9 (17) LABOR ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘labor 

10 organization’’ has the meaning given the term in 

11 section 701 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

12 U.S.C. 2000e). 

13 (18) OPERABLE.—The term ‘‘operable’’, used 

14 with respect to a website or application, means that 

15 user interface components and navigation for the 

16 website or application can be operated by individuals 

17 with disabilities. 

18 (19) PERCEIVABLE.—The term ‘‘perceivable’’, 

19 used with respect to a website or application, means 

20 that information and user interface components for 

21 the website or application are presentable in ways 

22 that individuals with disabilities can perceive. 

23 (20) PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION.—The term 

24 ‘‘public accommodation’’ means a private entity de25 scribed in paragraph (7) of section 301 of the ADA 


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1 (42 U.S.C. 12181) who owns, operates, or utilizes a 

2 website or application for covered use. 

3 (21) PUBLIC ENTITY.—The term ‘‘public enti4 ty’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘public entity’’ 

5 in section 201 of the ADA (42 U.S.C. 12131). 

6 (22) QUALIFIED INDIVIDUAL.—The term 

7 ‘‘qualified individual’’, used with respect to an em8 ployee or an applicant to become an employee, has 

9 the meaning given the term in section 101 of the 

10 ADA (42 U.S.C. 12111). 

11 (23) ROBUST.—The term ‘‘robust’’, used with 

12 respect to a website or application, means a website 

13 or application for which the content can be inter14 preted by and the interface can be accessed by a 

15 wide variety of tools, including assistive technology, 

16 used by individuals with disabilities. 

17 (24) SOFTWARE DEFINITIONS.— 

18 (A) PLATFORM SOFTWARE.— 

19 (i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘platform 

20 software’’ means software— 

21 (I) that interacts with hardware 

22 or provides services for other soft23 ware; 

24 (II) that may run or host other 

25 software, and may isolate the other 


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1 software from underlying software or 

2 hardware layers; and 

3 (III) a single component of which 

4 may have both platform and non-plat5 form aspects. 

6 (ii) PLATFORM.—For purposes of 

7 clause (i), the term ‘‘platform’’ includes— 

8 (I) a desktop operating system; 

9 (II) an embedded operating sys10 tem, including a mobile system; 

11 (III) a web browser; 

12 (IV) a plugin to a web browser 

13 that renders a particular media or 

14 format; and 

15 (V) a set of components that al16 lows another application to execute, 

17 such as an application which supports 

18 macros or scripting. 

19 (B) SOFTWARE.—In subparagraphs (A) 

20 and (C), the term ‘‘software’’— 

21 (i) means a program, a procedure, 

22 and a rule (any of which may include re23 lated data or documentation), that directs 

24 the use and operation of information and 


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1 communication technology to perform a 

2 given task or function; and 

3 (ii) includes applications, non-web 

4 software, platform software, and software 

5 tools. 

6 (C) SOFTWARE TOOL.— 

7 (i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘software 

8 tool’’ means software— 

9 (I) for which the primary func10 tion is the development of other soft11 ware; and 

12 (II) that usually comes in the 

13 form of an Integrated Development 

14 Environment and is a suite of related 

15 products and utilities. 

16 (ii) INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT EN17 VIRONMENT.—In clause (i), the term ‘‘In18 tegrated Development Environment’’ 

19 means an application such as— 

20 (I) Microsoft® Visual Studio®; 

21 (II) Apple® Xcode®; and 

22 (III) Eclipse Foundation 

23 Eclipse®. 


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1 (25) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

2 the several States, the District of Columbia, and any 

3 territory or possession of the United States. 

4 (26) TESTING ENTITY.—The term ‘‘testing en5 tity’’ means any person whose operations affect com6 merce, as defined in section 301 of the ADA (42 

7 U.S.C. 12181) and that offers examinations or 

8 courses related to, applying, licensing, certification, 

9 or credentialing for secondary or postsecondary edu10 cation, professional, or trade purposes. 

11 (27) UNDERSTANDABLE.—The term ‘‘under12 standable’’, used with respect to a website or appli13 cation, means that the components of the user inter14 face for the website or application, including any 

15 input fields, error messages, and correction opportu16 nities, are predictable and can be understood and 

17 used by individuals with disabilities. 

18 (28) WEBSITE.—The term ‘‘website’’ means 

19 any collection of related web pages, images, videos, 

20 or other digital assets placed in one or more com21 puter server-based file archives so that the collection 

22 can be accessed by applicants, employees, partici23 pants, customers, or other members of the public 

24 over the internet or through a private computer net25 work. 


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1 SEC. 4. ACCESS TO WEBSITES AND APPLICATIONS. 

2 (a) GENERAL RULES FOR COVERED ENTITIES.— 

3 (1) EMPLOYMENT ENTITY.—No employment 

4 entity shall subject to discrimination, related to a 

5 website or application owned, operated, or utilized 

6 for covered use by the employment entity, an indi7 vidual with a disability in regard to an activity de8 scribed in section 102 of the ADA (42 U.S.C. 

9 12112). 

10 (2) PUBLIC ENTITY.—No individual with a dis11 ability shall, by reason of such disability— 

12 (A) be excluded from participation in or be 

13 denied the benefits of the services, programs, or 

14 activities, or information related to such serv15 ices, programs, or activities, offered through a 

16 website or application owned, operated, or uti17 lized, for a covered use, by a public entity; or 

18 (B) be otherwise subjected to discrimina19 tion related to a website or application owned, 

20 operated, or utilized for covered use by a public 

21 entity. 

22 (3) PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION AND TESTING EN23 TITY.—No individual shall be discriminated against 

24 on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoy25 ment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, ad26 vantages, or accommodations, or information related 


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1 to such goods, services, facilities, privileges, advan2 tages, or accommodations, offered through a website 

3 or application owned, operated, or utilized for cov4 ered use by a public accommodation or testing enti5 ty. 

6 (b) COVERED ENTITIES.—In order to comply with 

7 subsection (a), a covered entity shall meet the following 

8 requirements: 

9 (1) ACCESSIBILITY.—A covered entity that en10 gages in an activity described in section 102 of the 

11 ADA (42 U.S.C. 12112), or that provides goods, 

12 services, facilities, privileges, advantages, accom13 modations, programs, activities, or information re14 lated to such goods, services, facilities, privileges, ad15 vantages, accommodations, programs, or activities, 

16 through a website or application shall ensure that 

17 such website or application is accessible. 

18 (2) EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS.—A covered 

19 entity shall ensure that covered uses through 

20 websites and applications with applicants, employees, 

21 participants, customers, and other members of the 

22 public with disabilities are as effective as commu23 nications and interactions with individuals without 

24 disabilities. 


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1 (c) COMMERCIAL PROVIDERS.—No commercial pro2 vider shall design, develop, construct, alter, modify, or add 

3 to a website or application for a covered entity for covered 

4 use in a manner that results in the website or application 

5 that is not accessible, or otherwise provide a website or 

6 application to a covered entity for covered use that is not 

7 accessible. 

8 (d) DEFENSES AND EXEMPTIONS.— 

9 (1) EMPLOYMENT ENTITIES.—With respect to 

10 a claim that an employment entity violated this sec11 tion, the entity shall not be considered to have vio12 lated this section if compliance with this section— 

13 (A) would impose an undue burden on the 

14 entity; or 

15 (B) would fundamentally alter the nature 

16 of the employment provided by the entity. 

17 (2) PUBLIC ENTITIES.—With respect to a claim 

18 that a public entity violated this section, the entity 

19 shall not be considered to have violated this section 

20 if compliance with this section— 

21 (A) would impose an undue burden on the 

22 entity; or 

23 (B) would fundamentally alter the nature 

24 of the services, programs, activities, or informa25 tion provided by the entity. 


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1 (3) PUBLIC ACCOMMODATIONS OR TESTING EN2 TITIES.—With respect to a claim that a public ac3 commodation or testing entity violated this section, 

4 the accommodation or entity shall not be considered 

5 to have violated this section if compliance with this 

6 section— 

7 (A) would impose an undue burden on the 

8 accommodation or entity; or 

9 (B) would fundamentally alter the nature 

10 of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, ad11 vantages, accommodations, or information pro12 vided by the accommodation or entity. 

13 (4) COMMERCIAL PROVIDERS.—With respect to 

14 a claim that a commercial provider violated this sec15 tion, the commercial provider shall not be considered 

16 to have violated this section if compliance with this 

17 section— 

18 (A) would impose an undue burden on the 

19 commercial provider; or 

20 (B) would fundamentally alter the nature 

21 of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, ad22 vantages, accommodations, programs, activities, 

23 or information provided by the covered entity 

24 served. 


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1 SEC. 5. RULEMAKING. 

2 (a) PUBLIC ENTITIES, PUBLIC ACCOMMODATIONS, 

3 AND TESTING ENTITIES.— 

4 (1) NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING.—Not 

5 later than 12 months after the date of enactment of 

6 this Act, the Attorney General shall issue, for pur7 poses of section 4, a notice of proposed rulemaking 

8 regarding the accessibility of websites and applica9 tions applicable to covered entities that are public 

10 entities or public accommodations or testing entities, 

11 and the commercial providers for the three types of 

12 covered entities, for covered use. Such notice shall 

13 propose regulations to implement the accessibility 

14 obligations of this Act, and include standards for ac15 cessible websites and applications that offer equally 

16 effective experiences for users with disabilities and 

17 users without disabilities. 

18 (2) FINAL RULE.—Not later than 24 months 

19 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney 

20 General shall issue, for purposes of section 4, a final 

21 rule regarding the accessibility of websites and appli22 cations applicable to the covered entities, and the 

23 commercial providers, described in paragraph (1), 

24 for covered use. Such final rule shall implement the 

25 accessibility obligations of this Act and include 

26 standards for accessible websites and applications 


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1 that offer equally effective experiences for users with 

2 disabilities and users without disabilities. 

3 (3) PUBLIC POSTING OF ENFORCEMENT AC4 TIONS.—Not later than 6 months after such 

5 issuance, the Attorney General shall, to the extent 

6 permitted by law, post publicly on the Department 

7 website any and all settlement documents and docu8 ments specifying other resolutions, resulting from 

9 the initiation of enforcement actions, or filing of ad10 ministrative or civil actions, by the Attorney General 

11 pursuant to this Act concerning the covered entities, 

12 and the commercial providers, described in para13 graph (1). 

14 (b) EMPLOYMENT ENTITIES.— 

15 (1) NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING.—Not 

16 later than 12 months after the date of enactment of 

17 this Act, the Commission shall issue, for purposes of 

18 section 4, a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding 

19 the accessibility of websites and applications applica20 ble to employment entities, and the commercial pro21 viders for employment entities, for covered use. Such 

22 notice shall propose regulations to implement the ac23 cessibility obligations of this Act, and include stand24 ards for accessible websites and applications that 


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1 offer equally effective experiences for users with dis2 abilities and users without disabilities. 

3 (2) FINAL RULE.—Not later than 24 months 

4 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commis5 sion shall issue, for purposes of section 4, a final 

6 rule regarding the accessibility of websites and appli7 cations applicable to the employment entities, and 

8 the commercial providers, described in paragraph 

9 (1), for covered use. Such final rule shall implement 

10 the accessibility obligations of this Act and include 

11 standards for accessible websites and applications 

12 that offer equally effective experiences for users with 

13 disabilities and users without disabilities. 

14 (3) PUBLIC POSTING OF ENFORCEMENT AC15 TIONS.—Not later than 6 months after such 

16 issuance, the Commission shall, to the extent per17 mitted by law, post publicly on the Commission 

18 website any and all settlement documents, and docu19 ments specifying other resolutions, resulting from 

20 the initiation of enforcement actions, or filing of ad21 ministrative or civil actions, by the Commission pur22 suant to this Act concerning the employment enti23 ties, and the commercial providers, described in 

24 paragraph (1). 


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1 SEC. 6. PERIODIC REVIEW. 

2 (a) REVIEW.—For each of the first 3 years after the 

3 date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years there4 after, each Federal agency receiving complaints or engag5 ing in enforcement (including compliance reviews and in6 vestigations), administrative (including administrative res7 olution of a claim of a violation), or civil actions under 

8 this Act shall submit a report on the complaints and ac9 tivities to the Department and the Commission. The At10 torney General and the Commission shall, for each of the 

11 first 3 years and every 2 years thereafter, review com12 plaints received and enforcement, administrative, or civil 

13 actions taken under this Act, to determine whether the 

14 purpose of this Act is being achieved. In conducting such 

15 reviews, the Attorney General and the Commission may 

16 award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to en17 tities that have documented experience and expertise in 

18 collecting and analyzing data associated with imple19 menting reviews of complaints, and enforcement, adminis20 trative, and civil actions. 

21 (b) REPORT.—The Attorney General and the Com22 mission shall prepare a report containing the results of 

23 each such review of complaints and actions described in 

24 subsection (a), and shall submit the report to the Com25 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the 

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1 mittee on Education and Labor and the Committee on the 

2 Judiciary of the House of Representatives. 

3 (c) UPDATED REGULATIONS.—The Attorney General 

4 and the Commission shall issue, in accordance with this 

5 Act, updated accessibility regulations every 3 years fol6 lowing the date of issuance of the initial accessibility regu7 lations issued under this Act. 

8 SEC. 7. ENFORCEMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION, AND 

9 PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION. 

10 (a) PUBLIC ENTITIES, PUBLIC ACCOMMODATIONS, 

11 AND TESTING ENTITIES.— 

12 (1) CIVIL ACTION BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.— 

14 (i) INVESTIGATION AFTER A COM15 PLAINT.—On receiving a complaint filed by 

16 an individual with a disability, a class of 

17 individuals with disabilities, or an entity 

18 representing an individual with a disability 

19 or such a class, of a violation of paragraph 

20 (2) or (3) of subsection (a), as the case 

21 may be, or a complaint filed by a covered 

22 entity that is a public entity, public accom23 modation, or testing entity of a violation of 

24 subsection (c), of section 4 (including a re25 lated provision of the final rule issued 


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1 under section 5(a)), the Attorney General 

2 may conduct an investigation. The inves3 tigation shall consist of a review of the cor4 responding website or application owned, 

5 operated, or utilized for covered use by 

6 such a covered entity, or provided to such 

7 a covered entity by a commercial provider, 

8 to determine whether the covered entity or 

9 commercial provider has violated the cor10 responding provision of section 4. 

11 (ii) OTHER INVESTIGATION AND RE12 VIEW.—In addition, the Attorney General 

13 shall, on the Attorney General’s own au14 thority, investigate practices that may be 

15 violations of, and undertake periodic re16 views of compliance of such covered enti17 ties and commercial providers with, the 

18 corresponding provision of section 4 (in19 cluding a related provision of the final rule 

20 issued under section 5(a)). 

21 (iii) DETERMINATION OF VIOLA22 TION.—If, after investigation or review 

23 under this subparagraph, the Attorney 

24 General determines that such a covered en25 tity or commercial provider has violated 


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1 the corresponding provision of section 4 

2 (including a related provision of the final 

3 rule issued under section 5(a)), the Attor4 ney General may take administrative ac5 tion (including administrative resolution of 

6 a claim of such a violation) or bring a civil 

7 action in a district court of the United 

8 States. 

9 (B) INTERVENTION.—If the Attorney Gen10 eral brings such a civil action based on a com11 plaint filed by an individual, class of individ12 uals, or entity, described in subparagraph (A), 

13 including a covered entity described in subpara14 graph (A) alleging a violation by a commercial 

15 provider, such individual, class, or entity shall 

16 have the right to intervene in such civil action. 

17 (2) CIVIL ACTION BY OTHERS.—An individual, 

18 class, or entity, described in paragraph (1)(A), in19 cluding a covered entity described in paragraph 

20 (1)(A) alleging a violation by a commercial provider, 

21 may bring a civil action alleging a violation of para22 graph (2) or (3) of subsection (a), or subsection (c), 

23 as the case may be, of section 4 (including a related 

24 provision of the final rule issued under section 5(a)) 

25 in an appropriate State or Federal court without 


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1 first filing a complaint with the Department or ex2 hausting any other administrative remedies. 

3 (b) EMPLOYMENT ENTITIES.— 

4 (1) CIVIL ACTION BY COMMISSION AND ATTOR5 NEY GENERAL.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.— 

7 (i) INVESTIGATION AFTER A COM8 PLAINT.—On receiving a complaint filed by 

9 a qualified individual, a class of qualified 

10 individuals, or an entity representing a 

11 qualified individual or such a class, of a 

12 violation of subsection (a)(1), or a com13 plaint filed by an employment entity of a 

14 violation of subsection (c), of section 4 (in15 cluding a related provision of the final rule 

16 issued under section 5(b)), the Commission 

17 may conduct an investigation. The inves18 tigation shall consist of a review of the cor19 responding website or application owned, 

20 operated, or utilized for covered use by an 

21 employment entity, or provided to an em22 ployment entity by a commercial provider, 

23 to determine whether the employment enti24 ty or commercial provider has violated the 

25 corresponding provision of section 4. 


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1 (ii) OTHER INVESTIGATION AND RE2 VIEW.—In addition, the Commission shall, 

3 on the Commission’s own authority, inves4 tigate practices that may be violations of, 

5 and undertake periodic reviews of compli6 ance of employment entities and commer7 cial providers with, the corresponding pro8 vision of section 4 (including a related pro9 vision of the final rule issued under section 

10 5(b)). 

11 (iii) DETERMINATION OF VIOLA12 TION.—If, after investigation or review de13 scribed in this subparagraph, the Commis14 sion determines that an employment entity 

15 or commercial provider has violated the 

16 corresponding provision of section 4 (in17 cluding a related provision of the final rule 

18 issued under section 5(b)), the Commission 

19 may take administrative action (including 

20 administrative resolution of a claim of such 

21 a violation) or bring a civil action in a dis22 trict court of the United States. 

23 (B) INTERVENTION.—If the Commission 

24 brings such a civil action based on a complaint 

25 filed by a qualified individual, class of qualified 


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1 individuals, or entity, described in subpara2 graph (A), including an employment entity al3 leging a violation by a commercial provider, 

4 such qualified individual, class, or entity shall 

5 have the right to intervene in such civil action. 

6 (2) CIVIL ACTION BY OTHERS.—A qualified in7 dividual, class, or entity, described in paragraph 

8 (1)(A), including an employee or employment entity 

9 alleging a violation by a commercial provider, may 

10 bring a civil action alleging a violation of subsection 

11 (a)(1) or subsection (c), as the case may be, of sec12 tion 4 (including a related provision of the final rule 

13 issued under section 5(b)) in an appropriate State or 

14 Federal court without first filing a complaint with 

15 the Commission or exhausting any other administra16 tive remedies. 

17 (3) FUNCTIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GEN18 ERAL.—The Attorney General shall carry out any 

19 function of the Commission under this subsection 

20 that the Attorney General carries out under section 

21 107 of the ADA (42 U.S.C. 12117). 

22 (c) RELIEF.— 

23 (1) CIVIL ACTION BY ATTORNEY GENERAL OR

24 COMMISSIONER.—In a civil action brought under 


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1 subsection (a)(1) or (b)(1), the Attorney General or 

2 Commissioner may seek— 

3 (A) a civil penalty and all appropriate in4 junctive relief to bring the affected website or 

5 application into compliance with section 4; and 

6 (B) on behalf of affected individuals, all 

7 economic and noneconomic damages including 

8 compensatory and punitive damages. 

9 (2) CIVIL ACTION BY OTHERS.—In a civil action 

10 brought under subsection (a)(2) or (b)(2), the plain11 tiff may seek all appropriate injunctive relief de12 scribed in paragraph (1)(A) and the damages de13 scribed in paragraph (1)(B). 

14 (3) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—The prevailing plain15 tiff (other than the United States) shall also be 

16 awarded reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. 

17 SEC. 8. RECOMMENDATIONS. 

18 (a) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General and 

20 the Commission shall establish a standing advisory 

21 committee (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Com22 mittee’’) on accessible websites and applications. The 

23 Committee shall be operated and receive resources in 

24 accordance with the provisions of the Federal Advi25 sory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), as an advisory 


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1 committee under the authority of the Attorney Gen2 eral and Commission. 

3 (2) COMPOSITION.—In establishing the Com4 mittee, the Attorney General and the Commission— 

5 (A) shall include on the Committee— 

6 (i) individuals with disabilities (com7 prising a majority of the members of the 

8 Committee) who are— 

9 (I) individuals who are blind (in10 cluding who have low vision), deaf, 

11 hard of hearing, or deafblind; 

12 (II) individuals who have speech 

13 disabilities; 

14 (III) individuals with physical 

15 disabilities including those with lim16 ited to no manual dexterity; and 

17 (IV) individuals who have disabil18 ities not specified in any of subclauses 

19 (I) through (III); and 

20 (ii) experts regarding accessible 

21 websites and applications for individuals 

22 with disabilities; and 

23 (B) may include on the Committee rep24 resentatives of— 

25 (i) State and local government; 


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1 (ii) covered entities; 

2 (iii) commercial providers; 

3 (iv) testing entities; and 

4 (v) other entities determined to be ap5 propriate by the Attorney General and the 

6 Commission. 

7 (3) FUNCTIONS.—The Committee shall provide 

8 responsive, advice and guidance to the Attorney 

9 General and the Commission, for purposes of car10 rying out this Act, by— 

11 (A) conducting public meetings twice per 

12 year, at a minimum; 

13 (B) submitting reports and recommenda14 tions to the Attorney General and Commission, 

15 and making the reports and recommendations 

16 publicly available, every 2 years at a minimum; 

17 and 

18 (C) otherwise assisting the Attorney Gen19 eral and Commission in identifying and under20 standing the impact and implications of innova21 tions with regard to accessible websites and ap22 plications. 

23 (b) CONFERRING.—The Attorney General and the 

24 Commission, in carrying out this Act, may confer with the 

25 National Council on Disability, the Architectural and 


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1 Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, or any other 

2 Federal department or agency that may have relevant ex3 pertise or experience. 

4 SEC. 9. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

5 (a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to 

6 establish a technical assistance center to provide, to cov7 ered entities, commercial providers, individuals with dis8 abilities, and other members of the public, information, 

9 resources, and technical assistance regarding— 

10 (1) the design, development, construction, alter11 ation, modification, or addition of accessible websites 

12 and applications in accordance with this Act; and 

13 (2) the rights of individuals with disabilities, 

14 covered entities, and commercial providers to access 

15 websites and applications in accordance with the 

16 ADA (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) and this Act. 

17 (b) SUPPORT FOR TRAINING AND TECHNICAL AS18 SISTANCE.—From amounts made available under section 

19 12, the Attorney General, in coordination with the Com20 mission, the Secretary of Education, and other heads of 

21 Federal agencies, as appropriate shall award, on a com22 petitive basis, at least 1 grant, contract, or cooperative 

23 agreement to a qualified training and technical assistance 

24 provider to support the development, establishment, and 

25 procurement of accessible websites and applications. 


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1 (c) APPLICATION.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 

3 grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this 

4 section, an entity shall submit an application to the 

5 Attorney General at such time, in such manner, and 

6 containing such information as the Attorney General 

7 may require. 

8 (2) INPUT.—In awarding a grant, contract, or 

9 cooperative agreement under this section and in re10 viewing the activities proposed under the applica11 tions described in paragraph (1), the Attorney Gen12 eral, in coordination with the Commission, the Sec13 retary of Education, and other heads of Federal 

14 agencies, as appropriate— 

15 (A) shall consider the input of— 

16 (i) individuals with disabilities who 

17 are— 

18 (I) individuals who are blind (in19 cluding individuals who have low vi20 sion), deaf, hard of hearing, or 

21 deafblind; 

22 (II) individuals who have speech 

23 disabilities; 


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1 (III) individuals with physical 

2 disabilities, including individuals with 

3 limited to no manual dexterity; and 

4 (IV) individuals who have disabil5 ities not specified in any of subclauses 

6 (I) through (III); and 

7 (ii) experts regarding accessible 

8 websites and applications for use by indi9 viduals with disabilities; and 

10 (B) may consider on the input of— 

11 (i) State and local government; 

12 (ii) covered entities; 

13 (iii) commercial providers; 

14 (iv) testing entities; and 

15 (v) other entities determined to be ap16 propriate by the Attorney General, in co17 ordination with the Commission, the Sec18 retary of Education, and other heads of 

19 Federal agencies, as appropriate. 

20 (d) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.— 

21 (1) USE OF FUNDS.— 

22 (A) REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION.—An 

23 entity receiving a grant, contract, or cooperative 

24 agreement under this section shall support a 

25 training and technical assistance program that 


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1 addresses information requests, concerning ac2 cessible websites and applications, from covered 

3 entities and commercial providers, including re4 quests for information regarding— 

5 (i) effective approaches for developing, 

6 establishing, and procuring accessible 

7 websites and applications; 

8 (ii) state-of-the-art, or model, Federal, 

9 State, and local laws, regulations, policies, 

10 practices, procedures, and organizational 

11 structures, that facilitate, and overcome 

12 barriers to, receipt of funding for, and ac13 cess to, accessible websites and applica14 tions; and 

15 (iii) examples of policies, practices, 

16 procedures, regulations, or judicial deci17 sions that have enhanced or may enhance 

18 access to and receipt of funding for acces19 sible websites and applications. 

20 (B) COORDINATION.—An entity receiving a 

21 grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under 

22 this section may also provide technical assist23 ance and training, concerning accessible 

24 websites and applications, for covered entities 

25 and commercial providers by— 


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1 (i) facilitating onsite and electronic in2 formation sharing using state-of-the-art 

3 internet technologies such as real-time on4 line discussions, multipoint video confer5 encing, and web-based audio or video 

6 broadcasts, on emerging topics regarding 

7 accessible websites and applications; 

8 (ii) convening experts to discuss and 

9 make recommendations with regard to na10 tional emerging issues regarding accessible 

11 websites and applications; 

12 (iii) sharing best practices and evi13 dence-based practices in developing, estab14 lishing, and procuring accessible websites 

15 and applications; 

16 (iv) supporting and coordinating ac17 tivities designed to reduce the financial 

18 costs of purchasing technology needed to 

19 access accessible websites and applications; 

20 and 

21 (v) carrying out such other activities 

22 as the Attorney General, in coordination 

23 with the Commission, the Secretary of 

24 Education, and other heads of Federal 

25 agencies, as appropriate may require. 


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1 (C) COLLABORATION.—In developing and 

2 providing training and technical assistance 

3 under this section, an entity receiving a grant, 

4 contract, or cooperative agreement under this 

5 section shall collaborate with— 

6 (i) organizations representing individ7 uals with disabilities; 

8 (ii) organizations or entities that pro9 vide services for individuals with disabil10 ities, such as centers for independent liv11 ing, as defined in section 702 of the Reha12 bilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 796a); 

13 (iii) entities, such as the World Wide 

14 Web Consortium, who develop inter15 national standards for accessible websites 

16 and applications; 

17 (iv) entities or individuals with exper18 tise and experience in enforcing disability 

19 rights law; and 

20 (v) other entities and technical assist21 ance providers determined to be appro22 priate by the Attorney General, in coordi23 nation with the Commission, the Secretary 

24 of Education, and other heads of Federal 

25 agencies, as appropriate. 


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1 SEC. 10. STUDY AND REPORT ON EMERGING TECH2 NOLOGIES. 

3 (a) STUDY AND REPORT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The National Council on 

5 Disability (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Coun6 cil’’) shall conduct a study and prepare a report 

7 on— 

8 (A) the effect that emerging technologies 

9 have on the ability of individuals with disabil10 ities to participate in employment, education, 

11 government, health care, commerce, culture, 

12 and other aspects of society; and 

13 (B) the effectiveness of this Act in achiev14 ing its purpose. 

15 (2) CONSIDERATION OF EFFECT ON INDIVID16 UALS WITH PARTICULAR BARRIERS.—In conducting 

17 the study and preparing the report, the Council shall 

18 consider the effect of emerging technologies on indi19 viduals with disabilities who use those technologies 

20 and have particular barriers to such participation 

21 and communication, such as individuals with disabil22 ities using those technologies— 

23 (A) who have limited language or limited 

24 English language; 


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1 (B) who have significant or targeted dis2 abilities (including people who are blind, deaf, 

3 or deafblind); 

4 (C) who have disabilities limiting commu5 nication; 

6 (D) whose household income is at or below 

7 200 percent of the poverty line, as defined by 

8 the Federal poverty guidelines of the Depart9 ment of Health and Human Services; 

10 (E) who lack access to broadband services 

11 and technology; or 

12 (F) who are multiply marginalized due to 

13 race, ethnicity, national origin, age, sex, sexual 

14 orientation, gender identity, or socioeconomic 

15 status. 

16 (b) SUBMISSION OF REPORT.—Five years after the 

17 date of enactment of this Act, the Council shall submit 

18 the report required under subsection (a) to the appro19 priate committees of Congress, which shall at minimum 

20 include the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 

21 Pensions and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Sen22 ate and the Committee on Education and Labor and the 

23 Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representa24 tives. 


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1 SEC. 11. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 

2 (a) OTHER PROVISIONS OF LAW.—Nothing in this 

3 Act shall be construed to affect the scope of obligations 

4 imposed by any other provision of law, including— 

5 (1) section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 

6 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), title II or III of the ADA (42 

7 U.S.C. 12131 et seq.), and section 1557 of the Pa8 tient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 

9 18116), that, consistent with this Act, prohibits an 

10 exclusion, denial, or any other discrimination de11 scribed in section 4(a) by a covered entity, including 

12 any public accommodation, whether or not the entity 

13 has a physical location or is digital only, and wheth14 er or not such exclusion, denial, or discrimination 

15 takes place in a physical or digital location; and 

16 (2) section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 

17 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d) and section 255 of the Com18 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 255). 

19 (b) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in 

20 this Act shall be construed to invalidate or limit the rem21 edies, rights, and procedures of any Federal law or law 

22 of any State or political subdivision of any State or juris23 diction, that provides greater or equal protection for the 

24 rights of individuals with disabilities than is afforded by 

25 this Act. 


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1 (c) CONSISTENT REGULATIONS.—Regulations pro2 mulgated under this Act shall be consistent with, and shall 

3 not contain a standard less protective of individuals with 

4 disabilities than, the standards contained in— 

5 (1) any regulations issued by the Attorney Gen6 eral or the Commission pursuant to— 

7 (A) title I of the ADA (42 U.S.C. 12111 

8 et seq.) for digital access to an item related to 

9 an activity described in section 102 of the ADA 

10 (42 U.S.C. 12112), by covered entities; 

11 (B) title II of the ADA (42 U.S.C. 12131 

12 et seq.) for digital access to services, programs, 

13 or activities, or information related to such 

14 services, programs, or activities of covered enti15 ties; or 

16 (C) title III of the ADA (42 U.S.C. 12181 

17 et seq.) for digital access to goods, services, fa18 cilities, privileges, advantages, accommodations, 

19 or information related to such goods, services, 

20 facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommoda21 tions of covered entities; and 

22 (2) the regulations issued by the Federal Com23 munications Commission for video programming and 

24 communications services provided via websites and 

25 applications. 


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1 (d) PROHIBITION ON NOTIFICATION REQUIRE2 MENT.—The Attorney General and the Commission shall 

3 not include, in the accessibility regulations, any require4 ment that an individual shall notify a covered entity of 

5 an allegation of a violation of this Act prior to commencing 

6 a civil action under this Act. 

7 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

8 There are authorized to be appropriated— 

9 (1) $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 

10 through 2028 to carry out sections 5, 6, 7, and 8; 

11 (2) $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 

12 through 2028 to carry out section 9; and 

13 (3) $150,000 for the period of fiscal years 2024 

14 through 2028 to carry out section 10. 

15 SEC. 13. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

16 This Act shall take effect 6 months after the date 

17 of enactment of this Act, except that section 4 shall apply 

18 to covered entities or commercial providers 12 months 

19 after that date of enactment. 

Æ 


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