Court Says Domino’s Pizza Website Must Be Accessible to the Blind

Karina Brown, Courthouse News Service (CNS), January 15, 2019
Guillermo Robles, a blind man, filed a federal lawsuit against Domino’s in September 2016, claiming the company thwarted him twice when he attempted to order a customized pizza. Its website and mobile app didn’t work with screen-reading software, which vocalizes visual information on websites. The company also offered online-only discounts, which Robles said were effectively off-limits for him. Robles claimed Domino’s violated the Americans With Disabilities Act and should make its online presence compatible with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines – private industry standards that have been widely adopted by federal agencies. Imposing liability on Domino’s does not violate the company’s due process rights, the panel found, because the company has known since the Americans With Disabilities Act became law in 1990 that it must provide full and equal access to people with disabilities. And regulations from the Department of Justice have been clear since 1996 that such protection extends to websites, according to the panel.