Maximum Accessibility: Making Your Web Site More Usable for Everyone

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act

We promised a further look at Section 508, which has had such an impact on Web design practice in the United States. More than three years after its passage, we find an increase in awareness of accessibility but a high level of confusion about how the standards apply to various sectors of society. As part of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, Congress revised Section 508, which was originally an amendment to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Signed into law on August 7, 1998, the Section 508 amendment mandates that when “Federal departments or agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use Electronic and Information Technology (EIT), they shall ensure that the EIT allows Federal employees with disabilities ...