Usability and Accessibility Legislation and Legal Rights
2011/02/09 – Published
International Standards
International projects should be constructed in consideration of the most stringent standards this is expected to be those pertaining to the USA, but also to include ISO9241 guidelines;
Australia
Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission – http://www.hreoc.gov.au/
The Act provides key legal standards which inform their Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/dda1992264).
Their disability standards and guidelines are hosted at http://www.hreoc.gov.au/disability_rights/standards/standards.html.
Canada
Canadian Human Rights Act and the Employment Equity Act 1976-1977 (http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/H-6/relprov.html )
Treasury board of Canada Secretariat
The Equity and Diversity Directorate of the Public Service Commission of Canada (PSC) – http://commissiondelafonctionpubliqueducanada.com/research/world_ps/canada_e.htm
Europe
The Euro Accessibility Consortium, launched in Paris on April 28th 2003 is intended to foster European co-operation toward a harmonised methodology for evaluating the accessibility of Web sites (see http://www.ddm.gouv.fr/dossiers_thematiques/documents/cisi2003f.html). This initiative is a joint undertaking by 23 organisations from all over Europe and the W3C/WAI (http://www.euroaccessibility.org/).
An overview of European legislation, not specific to the Internet, is available at Horizontal European Activities in Rehabilitation Technology (HEART) http://www.w3.org/WAI/EO/heart.html.
New Zealand
New Zealand is served by the New Zealand Disability strategy administered by the Office for Disability issues (http://www.odi.govt.nz/nzds/).
United Kingdom
In the UK, the legislative initiatives are aligned with the Disability Discrimination Act and equal opportunities directives.
- Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995, 1999 – www.disability.gov.uk – http://www.disability.gov.uk; http://www.disability.gov.uk/dda/index.html; http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1995/1995050.htm
- Disability rights commission act 1999 – http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1999/19990017.htm
Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (2001) – http://www.dcs-gb.net/part4dda.html
United States of America
In the United States there is strong governmental support that has led to about 11 pieces of disability legislation. The key legislation, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA, 1990) which applies to all walks of life was effected in 1992 during the George Bush (Snr) administration.
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 1990; 1995 – http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/
- Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act (1986; amended 1998) – http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/508/508home.html
- Workforce Investment Act 1998 – http://usworkforce.org
Report on application of ADA – http://www.rit.edu/~easi/law/weblaw1.htm