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Nuts.com class action alleges website inaccessible to blind, visually impaired consumers

Shivan Bassaw, a visually impaired individual, filed a class action lawsuit against Nuts.com, alleging the website makes it impossible for visually impaired or blind individuals to complete a transaction.

Bassaw claims he wanted to purchase products from Nuts.com but could not because the website is not compatible with screen-reading software. He says that because of the Nuts.com website’s visually dominant design and coding flaws, the website discriminates against blind or visually impaired individuals, violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The lawsuit claims technology is available that makes it possible for blind people to use websites.

photo of woman working on a laptop

Disabled people have been demanding remote work for decades. Here’s what happened when the pandemic made it possible

A new study by the Economic Innovation Group think tank has found that the employment rate for people with disabilities did not simply reach the pre-pandemic level by mid-2022, but rose far past it to the highest rate in over a decade. Remote work, combined with a tight labor market, explains this high rate, according to the analysis.

These findings prove that providing accommodations for people with disabilities may not require the kind of extra investment that leaders previously thought was needed. In fact, these accommodations might not involve much besides full-time remote work.

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LinkedIn Announces 7 Updates Coming In 2023

In LinkedIn’s annual preview of new features coming in the year ahead, the company announces seven features rolling out in 2023, including changes to job search.

Here’s what you can expect to see added to LinkedIn before the end of the year.

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Invicta class action claims website inaccessible to blind, visually impaired users

Invicta Watch Company of America failed to make its website fully accessible to individuals who are blind or legally impaired, a new class action lawsuit alleges.

Plaintiff Daniel Rodriguez claims Invicta failed to design, construct, maintain, and operate its website in a way that would make it independently usable for individuals who are blind or visually impaired.

photo of Bryce Dallas Howard

Bryce Dallas Howard Is Quietly Leading The Charge For Normalizing This Accessibility Standard

Bryce Dallas Howard is quietly normalizing a little-known accessibility standard on social media. For the past seven months, the actress has been using alternative text on her Instagram photo posts—and it’s something we can totally get behind!

When you scroll the 41-year-old’s Instagram page, you immediately notice that Howard creates alternative text for all of her image posts. If you don’t know about alt text, it’s a great way for visually impaired users to receive a description of the photo you’ve posted.

photo of paraplegic man using a computer

The internet doesn’t have to be impossible to navigate for Canadians with disabilities

Many years ago, when a person began losing their vision, the most common concern they had was no longer being able to drive.

Now, Kim Kilpatrick, who has been blind since birth, says when she speaks with those new to vision loss, they are most concerned about not being able to use their computer or smartphone.

“This technology is in their life and for better or for worse it is here to stay,” she said. “They are worried they may lose it.”

photo of two hands using a laptop keyboard

Goop class action claims website not accessible to visually impaired, blind visitors

Jovan Campbell filed a class action lawsuit against Goop, claiming the company’s website design is incompatible with software that helps blind people.

Campbell, who is blind, claims she wanted to buy Goop brand face cream but could not due to the access barriers she encountered on the website. These barriers violate the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Goop class action claims.

Art for the Tunic game featuring a fox character posing with a shield and sword in a colorful forest.

How Indie Studios Are Pioneering Accessible Game Design

IN RECENT YEARS, it hasn’t been uncommon to find an array of accessible features and design practices inside the newest game releases. In 2022 alone, the industry celebrated God of War Ragnarök’s approximate 70 accessibility options, The Last of Us Part I’s revolutionary audio descriptive cutscenes, and Forza Horizon 5’s American and British sign language interpreters. Accessibility is becoming the norm, but not just for AAA studios. Game developers in the indie space are also striving to create entertaining and accessible experiences for disabled players.

graphic illustration of group of people with different ethnicities and disabilities

In 2023, Brands Need To Grasp The Full Diversity Of Web Accessibility Needs

For far too long, and certainly, for the uninitiated, the important issue of website accessibility has been viewed as something related to blind users above anybody else.

When reflecting as to why this may be the case – there is no singular reason but instead, a multiplicity of factors at play.

For a start, though sight loss is a spectrum and can be driven by a variety of medical conditions, it remains a fairly linear and consistent disability for non-disabled web designers to, for want of a better word, envisage.

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