ADA Website Compliance In New York: What NYC Businesses Need To Know In 2026
Max Dewod
Freelance Writer
06.10.2026
Short answer: New York is the center of website accessibility litigation in the United States. In 2025, New York federal courts saw 1,021 website accessibility lawsuits, more than any other state, and many more cases were filed in New York state courts. There is no federal regulation setting a technical standard for private business websites, but WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the benchmark courts and settlements usually point to. The practical protection is a site that is actually built and tested to that standard, not a plugin that claims to make it compliant.
If you run a business in New York and have a website, accessibility is not a theoretical risk. Lawsuits here routinely target restaurants, retailers, salons, law firms and online stores of every size, often in batches, and often with a demand letter that arrives with no warning. This guide explains why New York is different, what the law actually requires, what to do if you receive a demand letter, and how to get your site into shape before you do.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. If you have received a demand letter or lawsuit, speak to an attorney.
Why New York Leads In Website Accessibility Lawsuits
According to the law firm Seyfarth Shaw, which tracks every federal filing, 3,117 website accessibility lawsuits were filed in federal court in 2025, a 27% increase on 2024. New York accounted for 1,021 of them, ahead of Florida with 961 and Illinois with 585.
Federal numbers understate the risk. New York federal judges have become stricter about what a plaintiff must show to have standing, so many plaintiffs now file in New York and New Jersey state courts instead. State and city human rights laws there can allow claims for money damages, which the federal ADA does not, and that makes New York state court an attractive venue for plaintiffs’ firms.
What The Law Actually Requires
Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act requires businesses open to the public to give people with disabilities equal access to their goods and services. In guidance issued in March 2022, the Department of Justice said it has consistently taken the position that this applies to services offered on the web.
What the DOJ has not done is publish a technical standard for private business websites. Its guidance says businesses have flexibility in how they comply, and points to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the federal Section 508 standards as helpful references. In practice, WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the standard that plaintiffs cite, settlements require and courts look to. The DOJ itself adopted WCAG 2.1 AA as the standard for state and local government websites in 2024.
The current version of the guidelines is WCAG 2.2, published in October 2023, which adds a handful of criteria to 2.1. Building to 2.2 AA covers 2.1 AA as well.
Any business that serves the public can be named, and most defendants are not large companies. Lawsuits often come in waves aimed at one industry at a time, filed by a small number of repeat plaintiffs and firms. Online stores are the most frequent target, but restaurants, hotels, salons, gyms, medical and dental practices, law firms, real estate brokers and nonprofits all appear regularly.
The issues cited are usually basic and easy to detect with an automated scan: images without text descriptions, forms without labels, poor color contrast, menus that cannot be used with a keyboard, and checkout flows that screen readers cannot complete. That is exactly why a business with an older or neglected site is easy to target.
Why Accessibility Widgets Are Not The Answer
Overlay widgets, usually a small accessibility icon in the corner of the screen, promise to make a site compliant by adding one line of code. They do not, and relying on one can leave you worse off:
They do not fix the underlying code. Screen reader users often find overlays get in the way of the assistive technology they already use.
They do not stop lawsuits. UsableNet, which tracks accessibility litigation, counted more than 1,400 lawsuits in 2025 against businesses that had an accessibility widget installed.
The marketing has been found misleading. In April 2025 the Federal Trade Commission finalized an order requiring the overlay company accessiBe to pay $1 million over claims that its product could make any website WCAG compliant.
Accessibility has to be built into the design and code of the site itself.
Website Accessibility Checklist
These are the issues that appear most often in demand letters. Checking them is a good first step, not a substitute for a full audit.
Check
What good looks like
Images
Every meaningful image has descriptive alt text. Decorative images are marked so screen readers skip them.
Keyboard use
Every menu, button, form and checkout step works with the Tab and Enter keys alone, with a visible focus outline.
Color contrast
Text meets the WCAG contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.
Forms
Every field has a label, errors are explained in text, and required fields are announced.
Headings
Pages use a logical heading structure, so screen reader users can navigate by section.
Links and buttons
Link text makes sense on its own. Avoid “click here” and unlabeled icons.
Video and audio
Videos have captions, and audio content has a transcript.
Zoom and mobile
Content stays usable at 200% zoom and on small screens without losing information.
Documents
PDFs such as menus and forms are accessible, or the same content is available as a web page.
Third-party tools
Booking, ordering, payment and chat tools you embed are accessible too. You are responsible for what is on your site.
How To Make Your Site Compliant
Get an audit. A proper audit combines automated scanning with manual testing using a keyboard and screen readers. Automated tools alone catch only part of the problems.
Fix the issues in the code and content. Prioritize the pages that matter most to customers: the homepage, booking or contact forms, menus, product pages and checkout.
Check your third-party tools. Ask vendors for their accessibility documentation, and replace tools that cannot meet the standard.
Publish an accessibility statement. Say which standard you aim for and give people a way to report problems and get help.
Keep testing. Every new page, product or plugin can introduce problems. Build accessibility checks into how you publish.
Put it in your contracts. When you hire a web designer, require WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 AA in writing, with manual testing before launch.
If You Receive A Demand Letter
Do not ignore it. Deadlines in demand letters and lawsuits are real.
Talk to an attorney who handles ADA website cases before you reply or pay anything.
Do not just install a widget. As covered above, it is not a defense.
Start an audit and fixes promptly. Documented, genuine remediation strengthens your position and protects you from the next letter, which often follows the first.
Keep records of the issues found, the fixes made and the dates.
Who To Hire
You will usually need one or both of an accessibility specialist and a web developer who can implement the fixes.
If you are starting a business, build accessibility in from day one. Our guide to starting a business in New York City covers the rest of the setup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is ADA website compliance required by law?
The ADA requires businesses open to the public to provide equal access, and the DOJ says that applies to websites. There is no federal regulation setting a technical standard for private businesses, but WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the benchmark used in most lawsuits and settlements.
Why are there so many ADA website lawsuits in New York?
New York has a large concentration of businesses, an established group of plaintiffs’ firms, and state and city human rights laws that can allow damages. New York led all states in federal website accessibility suits in 2025, with 1,021, and many more cases are filed in its state courts.
Does a small business website need to be ADA compliant?
Size does not exempt a business that serves the public. Small businesses are named in lawsuits regularly, often because older sites have basic, easy-to-detect problems.
Will an accessibility plugin or overlay make my site compliant?
No. Overlays do not fix underlying code, businesses using them are still sued, and the FTC ordered one overlay company to pay $1 million in 2025 over misleading compliance claims.
Should I follow WCAG 2.1 or WCAG 2.2?
WCAG 2.1 AA is the standard most often cited in New York cases. WCAG 2.2, published in 2023, adds a few criteria, and building to 2.2 AA satisfies 2.1 AA too.
What does a website accessibility audit cost?
It depends on the size and complexity of the site and how much manual testing is included. Get quotes from two or three specialists and compare exactly which pages, devices and assistive technologies each one tests.
The Short Version
New York is where website accessibility lawsuits happen most, with 1,021 federal cases in 2025 and many more in state court. The law requires equal access, and WCAG 2.1 AA is the standard that matters in practice. Audit your site with manual testing, fix the code rather than installing a widget, check the tools you embed, and write the standard into every web design contract. If a demand letter arrives, call an attorney first.
