II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2984 

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 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2023 

Ms. DUCKWORTH (for herself, Ms. WARREN, 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 of 2023’’. 

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) SMALL ENTITY.—The term ‘‘small entity’’ 

18 means an entity or provider defined as a small entity 

19 in the regulations issued under subsection (a) or (b) 

20 of section 5. 

21 (25) SOFTWARE DEFINITIONS.— 

22 (A) PLATFORM SOFTWARE.— 

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

24 software’’ means software— 


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1 (I) that interacts with hardware 

2 or provides services for other soft3 ware; 

4 (II) that may run or host other 

5 software, and may isolate the other 

6 software from underlying software or 

7 hardware layers; and 

8 (III) a single component of which 

9 may have both platform and non-plat10 form aspects. 

11 (ii) PLATFORM.—For purposes of 

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

13 (I) a desktop operating system; 

14 (II) an embedded operating sys15 tem, including a mobile system; 

16 (III) a web browser; 

17 (IV) a plugin to a web browser 

18 that renders a particular media or 

19 format; and 

20 (V) a set of components that al21 lows another application to execute, 

22 such as an application which supports 

23 macros or scripting. 

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

25 and (C), the term ‘‘software’’— 


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1 (i) means a program, a procedure, 

2 and a rule (any of which may include re3 lated data or documentation), that directs 

4 the use and operation of information and 

5 communication technology to perform a 

6 given task or function; and 

7 (ii) includes applications, non-web 

8 software, platform software, and software 

9 tools. 

10 (C) SOFTWARE TOOL.— 

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

12 tool’’ means software— 

13 (I) for which the primary func14 tion is the development of other soft15 ware; and 

16 (II) that usually comes in the 

17 form of an Integrated Development 

18 Environment and is a suite of related 

19 products and utilities. 

20 (ii) INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT EN21 VIRONMENT.—In clause (i), the term ‘‘In22 tegrated Development Environment’’ 

23 means an application such as— 

24 (I) Microsoft® Visual Studio®; 

25 (II) Apple® Xcode®; and 


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1 (III) Eclipse Foundation 

2 Eclipse®. 

3 (26) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

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

5 territory or possession of the United States. 

6 (27) TESTING ENTITY.—The term ‘‘testing en7 tity’’ means any person whose operations affect com8 merce, as defined in section 301 of the ADA (42 

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

10 courses related to, applying, licensing, certification, 

11 or credentialing for secondary or postsecondary edu12 cation, professional, or trade purposes. 

13 (28) UNDERSTANDABLE.—The term ‘‘under14 standable’’, used with respect to a website or appli15 cation, means that the components of the user inter16 face for the website or application, including any 

17 input fields, error messages, and correction opportu18 nities, are predictable and can be understood and 

19 used by individuals with disabilities. 

20 (29) WEBSITE.—The term ‘‘website’’ means 

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

22 or other digital assets placed in one or more com23 puter server-based file archives so that the collection 

24 can be accessed by applicants, employees, partici25 pants, customers, or other members of the public 


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1 over the internet or through a private computer net2 work. 

3 SEC. 4. ACCESS TO WEBSITES AND APPLICATIONS. 

4 (a) GENERAL RULES FOR COVERED ENTITIES.— 

5 (1) EMPLOYMENT ENTITY.—No employment 

6 entity shall subject to discrimination, related to a 

7 website or application owned, operated, or utilized 

8 for covered use by the employment entity, an indi9 vidual with a disability in regard to an activity de10 scribed in section 102 of the ADA (42 U.S.C. 

11 12112). 

12 (2) PUBLIC ENTITY.—No individual with a dis13 ability shall, by reason of such disability— 

14 (A) be excluded from participation in or be 

15 denied the benefits of the services, programs, or 

16 activities, or information related to such serv17 ices, programs, or activities, offered through a 

18 website or application owned, operated, or uti19 lized, for a covered use, by a public entity; or 

20 (B) be otherwise subjected to discrimina21 tion related to a website or application owned, 

22 operated, or utilized for covered use by a public 

23 entity. 

24 (3) PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION AND TESTING EN25 TITY.—No individual shall be discriminated against 


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1 on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoy2 ment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, ad3 vantages, or accommodations, or information related 

4 to such goods, services, facilities, privileges, advan5 tages, or accommodations, offered through a website 

6 or application owned, operated, or utilized for cov7 ered use by a public accommodation or testing enti8 ty. 

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

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

11 requirements: 

12 (1) ACCESSIBILITY.—A covered entity that en13 gages in an activity described in section 102 of the 

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

15 services, facilities, privileges, advantages, accom16 modations, programs, activities, or information re17 lated to such goods, services, facilities, privileges, ad18 vantages, accommodations, programs, or activities, 

19 through a website or application shall ensure that 

20 such website or application is accessible. 

21 (2) EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS.—A covered 

22 entity shall ensure that covered uses through 

23 websites and applications with applicants, employees, 

24 participants, customers, and other members of the 

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1 nications and interactions with individuals without 

2 disabilities. 

3 (c) COMMERCIAL PROVIDERS.—No commercial pro4 vider shall design, develop, construct, alter, modify, or add 

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

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

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

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

9 accessible. 

10 (d) DEFENSES AND EXEMPTIONS.— 

11 (1) EMPLOYMENT ENTITIES.—With respect to 

12 a claim that an employment entity violated this sec13 tion, the entity shall not be considered to have vio14 lated this section if compliance with this section— 

15 (A) would impose an undue burden on the 

16 entity; or 

17 (B) would fundamentally alter the nature 

18 of the employment provided by the entity. 

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

20 that a public entity violated this section, the entity 

21 shall not be considered to have violated this section 

22 if compliance with this section— 

23 (A) would impose an undue burden on the 

24 entity; or 


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1 (B) would fundamentally alter the nature 

2 of the services, programs, activities, or informa3 tion provided by the entity. 

4 (3) PUBLIC ACCOMMODATIONS OR TESTING EN5 TITIES.—With respect to a claim that a public ac6 commodation or testing entity violated this section, 

7 the accommodation or entity shall not be considered 

8 to have violated this section if compliance with this 

9 section— 

10 (A) would impose an undue burden on the 

11 accommodation or entity; or 

12 (B) would fundamentally alter the nature 

13 of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, ad14 vantages, accommodations, or information pro15 vided by the accommodation or entity. 

16 (4) COMMERCIAL PROVIDERS.—With respect to 

17 a claim that a commercial provider violated this sec18 tion, the commercial provider shall not be considered 

19 to have violated this section if compliance with this 

20 section— 

21 (A) would impose an undue burden on the 

22 commercial provider; or 

23 (B) would fundamentally alter the nature 

24 of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, ad25 vantages, accommodations, programs, activities, 


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1 or information provided by the covered entity 

2 served. 

3 SEC. 5. RULEMAKING. 

4 (a) PUBLIC ENTITIES, PUBLIC ACCOMMODATIONS, 

5 AND TESTING ENTITIES.— 

6 (1) NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING.— 

7 (A) ACCESSIBILITY.—Not later than 12 

8 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 

9 the Attorney General shall issue, for purposes 

10 of section 4, a notice of proposed rulemaking 

11 regarding the accessibility of websites and ap12 plications applicable to covered entities that are 

13 public entities or public accommodations or 

14 testing entities, and the commercial providers 

15 for the three types of covered entities, for cov16 ered use. Such notice shall propose regulations 

17 to implement the accessibility obligations of this 

18 Act, and include standards for accessible 

19 websites and applications that offer equally ef20 fective experiences for users with disabilities 

21 and users without disabilities. 

22 (B) SMALL ENTITIES.—In proposing the 

23 regulations, the Attorney General shall— 

24 (i) define the smaller entities, and 

25 providers, described in subparagraph (A) 


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1 as small entities for purposes of this Act; 

2 and 

3 (ii) propose regulations that take into 

4 account the capabilities of small entities, 

5 such as small businesses, to comply with 

6 standards for accessible websites and appli7 cations. 

8 (2) FINAL RULE.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 24 

10 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 

11 the Attorney General shall issue, for purposes 

12 of section 4, a final rule regarding the accessi13 bility of websites and applications applicable to 

14 the covered entities, and the commercial pro15 viders, described in paragraph (1), for covered 

16 use. Such final rule shall implement the accessi17 bility obligations of this Act, include standards 

18 for accessible websites and applications that 

19 offer equally effective experiences for users with 

20 disabilities and users without disabilities, and 

21 take into account the capabilities of small enti22 ties, as described in paragraph (1)(B)(ii). 

23 (B) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The final rule 

24 shall take effect— 


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1 (i) for small entities, 2 years after the 

2 date of issuance of the final rule; and 

3 (ii) for other entities, 30 days after 

4 that date of issuance. 

5 (3) PUBLIC POSTING OF ENFORCEMENT AC6 TIONS.—Not later than 6 months after such 

7 issuance, the Attorney General shall, to the extent 

8 permitted by law, post publicly on the Department 

9 website any and all settlement documents and docu10 ments specifying other resolutions, resulting from 

11 the initiation of enforcement actions, or filing of ad12 ministrative or civil actions, by the Attorney General 

13 pursuant to this Act concerning the covered entities, 

14 and the commercial providers, described in para15 graph (1). 

16 (b) EMPLOYMENT ENTITIES.— 

17 (1) NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING.— 

18 (A) ACCESSIBILITY.—Not later than 12 

19 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 

20 the Commission shall issue, for purposes of sec21 tion 4, a notice of proposed rulemaking regard22 ing the accessibility of websites and applications 

23 applicable to employment entities, and the com24 mercial providers for employment entities, for 

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1 tions to implement the accessibility obligations 

2 of this Act, and include standards for accessible 

3 websites and applications that offer equally ef4 fective experiences for users with disabilities 

5 and users without disabilities. 

6 (B) SMALL ENTITIES.—In proposing the 

7 regulations, the Attorney General shall— 

8 (i) define the smaller entities, and 

9 providers, described in subparagraph (A) 

10 as small entities for purposes of this Act; 

11 and 

12 (ii) propose regulations that take into 

13 account the capabilities of small entities, 

14 such as small businesses, to comply with 

15 standards for accessible websites and appli16 cations. 

17 (2) FINAL RULE.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 24 

19 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 

20 the Commission shall issue, for purposes of sec21 tion 4, a final rule regarding the accessibility of 

22 websites and applications applicable to the em23 ployment entities, and the commercial pro24 viders, described in paragraph (1), for covered 

25 use. Such final rule shall implement the accessiVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Oct 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2984.IS S2984

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1 bility obligations of this Act, include standards 

2 for accessible websites and applications that 

3 offer equally effective experiences for users with 

4 disabilities and users without disabilities, and 

5 take into account the capabilities of small enti6 ties, as described in paragraph (1)(B)(ii). 

7 (B) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The final rule 

8 shall take effect— 

9 (i) for small entities, 2 years after the 

10 date of issuance of the final rule; and 

11 (ii) for other entities, 30 days after 

12 that date of issuance. 

13 (3) PUBLIC POSTING OF ENFORCEMENT AC14 TIONS.—Not later than 6 months after such 

15 issuance, the Commission shall, to the extent per16 mitted by law, post publicly on the Commission 

17 website any and all settlement documents, and docu18 ments specifying other resolutions, resulting from 

19 the initiation of enforcement actions, or filing of ad20 ministrative or civil actions, by the Commission pur21 suant to this Act concerning the employment enti22 ties, and the commercial providers, described in 

23 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 chapter of title 5, 

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1 eral Advisory Committee Act’’), as an advisory com2 mittee under the authority of the Attorney General 

3 and Commission. 

4 (2) COMPOSITION.—In establishing the Com5 mittee, the Attorney General and the Commission— 

6 (A) shall include on the Committee— 

7 (i) individuals with disabilities (com8 prising a majority of the members of the 

9 Committee) who are— 

10 (I) individuals who are blind (in11 cluding who have low vision), deaf, 

12 hard of hearing, or deafblind; 

13 (II) individuals who have speech 

14 disabilities; 

15 (III) individuals with physical 

16 disabilities including those with lim17 ited to no manual dexterity; and 

18 (IV) individuals who have disabil19 ities not specified in any of subclauses 

20 (I) through (III); and 

21 (ii) experts regarding accessible 

22 websites and applications for individuals 

23 with disabilities; and 

24 (B) may include on the Committee rep25 resentatives of— 


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1 (i) State and local government; 

2 (ii) covered entities, including such 

3 entities who are small entities; 

4 (iii) commercial providers; 

5 (iv) testing entities; and 

6 (v) other entities determined to be ap7 propriate by the Attorney General and the 

8 Commission. 

9 (3) FUNCTIONS.—The Committee shall provide 

10 responsive advice and guidance to the Attorney Gen11 eral and the Commission, for purposes of carrying 

12 out this Act, by— 

13 (A) conducting public meetings twice per 

14 year, at a minimum; 

15 (B) submitting reports and recommenda16 tions to the Attorney General and Commission, 

17 and making the reports and recommendations 

18 publicly available, every 2 years at a minimum; 

19 and 

20 (C) otherwise assisting the Attorney Gen21 eral and Commission in identifying and under22 standing the impact and implications of innova23 tions with regard to accessible websites and ap24 plications. 


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

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

3 National Council on Disability, the Architectural and 

4 Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, or any other 

5 Federal department or agency that may have relevant ex6 pertise or experience. 

7 SEC. 9. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

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

9 establish a technical assistance center to provide, to cov10 ered entities, commercial providers, individuals with dis11 abilities, and other members of the public, information, 

12 resources, training, and technical assistance regarding— 

13 (1) the design, development, construction, alter14 ation, modification, or addition of accessible websites 

15 and applications in accordance with this Act; and 

16 (2) the rights of individuals with disabilities, 

17 covered entities, and commercial providers to access 

18 websites and applications in accordance with the 

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

20 (b) SUPPORT FOR TRAINING AND TECHNICAL AS21 SISTANCE.—From amounts made available under section 

22 13, the Attorney General, in coordination with the Com23 mission, the Secretary of Education, and other heads of 

24 Federal agencies, as appropriate shall award, on a com25 petitive basis, at least 1 grant, contract, or cooperative 


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1 agreement to a qualified training and technical assistance 

2 provider to support the development, establishment, and 

3 procurement of accessible websites and applications. 

4 (c) APPLICATION.— 

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

6 grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this 

7 section, an entity shall submit an application to the 

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

9 containing such information as the Attorney General 

10 may require. 

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

12 cooperative agreement under this section and in re13 viewing the activities proposed under the applica14 tions described in paragraph (1), the Attorney Gen15 eral, in coordination with the Commission, the Sec16 retary of Education, and other heads of Federal 

17 agencies, as appropriate— 

18 (A) shall consider the input of— 

19 (i) individuals with disabilities who 

20 are— 

21 (I) individuals who are blind (in22 cluding individuals who have low vi23 sion), deaf, hard of hearing, or 

24 deafblind; 


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1 (II) individuals who have speech 

2 disabilities; 

3 (III) individuals with physical 

4 disabilities, including individuals with 

5 limited to no manual dexterity; and 

6 (IV) individuals who have disabil7 ities not specified in any of subclauses 

8 (I) through (III); and 

9 (ii) experts regarding accessible 

10 websites and applications for use by indi11 viduals with disabilities; and 

12 (B) may consider the input of— 

13 (i) State and local government; 

14 (ii) covered entities; 

15 (iii) commercial providers; 

16 (iv) testing entities; and 

17 (v) other entities determined to be ap18 propriate by the Attorney General, in co19 ordination with the Commission, the Sec20 retary of Education, and other heads of 

21 Federal agencies, as appropriate. 

22 (d) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.— 

23 (1) USE OF FUNDS.— 

24 (A) REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION.—An 

25 entity receiving a grant, contract, or cooperative 


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1 agreement under this section shall support a 

2 training and technical assistance program that 

3 addresses information requests, concerning ac4 cessible websites and applications, from covered 

5 entities and commercial providers, including re6 quests for information regarding— 

7 (i) effective approaches for developing, 

8 establishing, and procuring accessible 

9 websites and applications; 

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

11 State, and local laws, regulations, policies, 

12 practices, procedures, and organizational 

13 structures, that facilitate, and overcome 

14 barriers to, receipt of funding for, and ac15 cess to, accessible websites and applica16 tions; and 

17 (iii) examples of policies, practices, 

18 procedures, regulations, or judicial deci19 sions that have enhanced or may enhance 

20 access to and receipt of funding for acces21 sible websites and applications. 

22 (B) COORDINATION.—An entity receiving a 

23 grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under 

24 this section may also provide technical assist25 ance and training, concerning accessible 


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1 websites and applications, for covered entities 

2 and commercial providers by— 

3 (i) facilitating onsite and electronic in4 formation sharing using state-of-the-art 

5 internet technologies such as real-time on6 line discussions, multipoint video confer7 encing, and web-based audio or video 

8 broadcasts, on emerging topics regarding 

9 accessible websites and applications; 

10 (ii) convening experts to discuss and 

11 make recommendations with regard to na12 tional emerging issues regarding accessible 

13 websites and applications; 

14 (iii) sharing best practices and evi15 dence-based practices in developing, estab16 lishing, and procuring accessible websites 

17 and applications; 

18 (iv) supporting and coordinating ac19 tivities designed to reduce the financial 

20 costs of purchasing technology needed to 

21 access accessible websites and applications; 

22 and 

23 (v) carrying out such other activities 

24 as the Attorney General, in coordination 

25 with the Commission, the Secretary of 


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1 Education, and other heads of Federal 

2 agencies, as appropriate may require. 

3 (C) COLLABORATION.—In developing and 

4 providing training and technical assistance 

5 under this section, an entity receiving a grant, 

6 contract, or cooperative agreement under this 

7 section shall collaborate with— 

8 (i) organizations representing individ9 uals with disabilities; 

10 (ii) organizations or entities that pro11 vide services for individuals with disabil12 ities, such as centers for independent liv13 ing, as defined in section 702 of the Reha14 bilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 796a); 

15 (iii) entities, such as the World Wide 

16 Web Consortium and the National Insti17 tute of Standards and Technology, that de18 velop international standards for accessible 

19 websites and applications; 

20 (iv) existing (existing as of the date of 

21 the application for the award involved) 

22 technical assistance entities, such as the 

23 ADA National Network; 


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1 (v) Federal, State, and territorial 

2 agencies that provide assistance to small 

3 businesses; 

4 (vi) organizations or entities rep5 resenting State or local government, and 

6 educational website and technology profes7 sionals; 

8 (vii) entities or individuals with exper9 tise and experience in enforcing disability 

10 rights law; and 

11 (viii) other entities and technical as12 sistance providers determined to be appro13 priate by the Attorney General, in coordi14 nation with the Commission, the Secretary 

15 of Education, and other heads of Federal 

16 agencies, as appropriate. 

17 (D) GRANT ADMINISTRATION.—An entity 

18 receiving a grant, contract, or cooperative 

19 agreement under this section may use funds 

20 made available under section 13 to administer 

21 a program to make subgrants to small entities, 

22 pursuant to section 11. 

23 SEC. 10. STUDY AND REPORT ON EMERGING TECH24 NOLOGIES. 

25 (a) STUDY AND REPORT.— 


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

2 Disability (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Coun3 cil’’) shall conduct a study and prepare a report 

4 on— 

5 (A) the effect that emerging technologies 

6 have on the ability of individuals with disabil7 ities to participate in employment, education, 

8 government, health care, commerce, culture, 

9 and other aspects of society; and 

10 (B) the effectiveness of this Act in achiev11 ing its purpose. 

12 (2) CONSIDERATION OF EFFECT ON INDIVID13 UALS WITH PARTICULAR BARRIERS.—In conducting 

14 the study and preparing the report, the Council shall 

15 consider the effect of emerging technologies on indi16 viduals with disabilities who use those technologies 

17 and have particular barriers to such participation 

18 and communication, such as individuals with disabil19 ities using those technologies— 

20 (A) who have limited language or limited 

21 English language; 

22 (B) who have significant or targeted dis23 abilities (including people who are blind, deaf, 

24 or deafblind); 


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1 (C) who have disabilities limiting commu2 nication; 

3 (D) whose household income is at or below 

4 200 percent of the poverty line, as defined by 

5 the Federal poverty guidelines of the Depart6 ment of Health and Human Services; 

7 (E) who lack access to broadband services 

8 and technology; or 

9 (F) who are multiply marginalized due to 

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

11 orientation, gender identity, or socioeconomic 

12 status. 

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

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

15 the report required under subsection (a) to the appro16 priate committees of Congress, which shall at minimum 

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

18 Pensions and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Sen19 ate and the Committee on Education and Labor and the 

20 Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representa21 tives. 

22 SEC. 11. GRANTS TO SMALL ENTITIES. 

23 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to 

24 award grants to provide assistance to small entities to en25 able the entities to remediate existing (as of the date of 


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1 application for the award) websites and applications to en2 able the small entities to comply with the regulations es3 tablished under this Act. 

4 (b) SUPPORT FOR REMEDIATION ACTIVITIES.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made avail6 able under section 13, for each of the first 5 years 

7 after the date of issuance, the recipient of the award 

8 under section 9 (relating to a technical assistance 

9 center), in coordination with the Attorney General 

10 and the Commission, shall award grants, in amounts 

11 not to exceed $10,000, to small entities to support 

12 auditing, testing, and remediating inaccessible 

13 websites or applications or to support procurement 

14 of accessible websites and applications to replace in15 accessible websites or applications, in accordance 

16 with this Act. 

17 (2) DATE OF ISSUANCE.—In this subsection, 

18 the term ‘‘date of issuance’’ means the date that is 

19 the earlier of the first day on which a final rule is 

20 issued under section 5(a) and the first day on which 

21 a final rule is issued under section 5(b). 

22 (c) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

23 under this section, a small entity shall submit an applica24 tion to the Attorney General and the Commission (or the 

25 recipient of the award under section 9) at such time, in 


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1 such manner, and containing such information as the At2 torney General and the Commission (or the recipient of 

3 the award under section 9) may require. At a minimum, 

4 the applicant shall demonstrate— 

5 (1) that the entity is a small entity; 

6 (2)(A) if the entity is a covered entity, that it 

7 owns, operates, or utilizes an inaccessible website or 

8 application that requires remediation or replacement 

9 for the entity to comply with this Act; or 

10 (B) if the entity is a commercial provider, that 

11 it provides, to a covered entity, an inaccessible 

12 website or application that requires remediation for 

13 the provider to comply with this Act; and 

14 (3) that the small entity has a plan to reme15 diate or replace, as appropriate, the inaccessible 

16 website or application, so that the entity complies 

17 with this Act. 

18 (d) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—A small entity receiv19 ing a grant under this section— 

20 (1) may use the grant funds, directly or 

21 through a subgrant, to audit, test, or remediate the 

22 inaccessible website or application or procure a new 

23 accessible website or application to replace the inac24 cessible website or application; 


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1 (2) shall use the grant funds to demonstrate 

2 that the resulting website or application is acces3 sible; and 

4 (3) may not use the grant funds to design, de5 velop, or procure an inaccessible website or applica6 tion. 

7 SEC. 12. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 

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

9 Act shall be construed to affect the scope of obligations 

10 imposed by any other provision of law, including— 

11 (1) section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 

12 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), title II or III of the ADA (42 

13 U.S.C. 12131 et seq.), and section 1557 of the Pa14 tient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 

15 18116), that, consistent with this Act, prohibit an 

16 exclusion, denial, or any other discrimination de17 scribed in section 4(a) by a covered entity, including 

18 any public accommodation, whether or not the entity 

19 has a physical location or is digital only, and wheth20 er or not such exclusion, denial, or discrimination 

21 takes place in a physical or digital location; and 

22 (2) section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 

23 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d) and section 255 of the Com24 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 255). 


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

2 this Act shall be construed to invalidate or limit the rem3 edies, rights, and procedures of any Federal law or law 

4 of any State or political subdivision of any State or juris5 diction, that provides greater or equal protection for the 

6 rights of individuals with disabilities than is afforded by 

7 this Act. 

8 (c) CONSISTENT REGULATIONS.—Regulations pro9 mulgated under this Act shall be consistent with, and shall 

10 not contain a standard less protective of individuals with 

11 disabilities than, the standards contained in— 

12 (1) any regulations issued by the Attorney Gen13 eral or the Commission pursuant to— 

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

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

16 an activity described in section 102 of the ADA 

17 (42 U.S.C. 12112), by covered entities; 

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

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

20 or activities, or information related to such 

21 services, programs, or activities of covered enti22 ties; or 

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

24 et seq.) for digital access to goods, services, fa25 cilities, privileges, advantages, accommodations, 


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1 or information related to such goods, services, 

2 facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommoda3 tions of covered entities; and 

4 (2) the regulations issued by the Federal Com5 munications Commission for video programming and 

6 communications services provided via websites and 

7 applications. 

8 (d) PROHIBITION ON NOTIFICATION REQUIRE9 MENT.—The Attorney General and the Commission shall 

10 not include, in the accessibility regulations, any require11 ment that an individual shall notify a covered entity of 

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

13 a civil action under this Act. 

14 SEC. 13. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

15 There are authorized to be appropriated $35,150,000 

16 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2033 to carry out 

17 this Act. 

18 SEC. 14. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

19 This Act shall take effect 6 months after the date 

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

21 to covered entities or commercial providers 12 months 

22 after that date of enactment. 

Æ 


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