Nobody’s perfect, no matter how hard you as an employer may try to be. Despite any Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) training you or your staff take, self-study on accessibility, and continuous improvement for both yourself and your workplace, there is always a chance for mistakes to be made – and also room to grow. Every day there are stories of businesses or employees making errors regarding ADA compliance and accessibility. Although your company may make similar mistakes, it is not impossible to do better and learn from the experience.
What are some examples of accessibility mistakes?
There are many ways a company can purposefully or inadvertently violate the ADA entirely or make errors in judgment in communications or policies that fail to be inclusive and accommodating. Sometimes, a mistake is large enough to result in a lawsuit, like Quest Laboratory’s failure to provide auxiliary aids for people who are blind. ADA-related cases have been up 320 percent since 2013, according to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Though frustrating for disability advocates and potentially painful for the business at fault, these lawsuits afford your company the opportunity to learn.
Sometimes a mistake is made that may not result in a lawsuit but does impact your company’s reputation and damages your image. Bouncing back from these errors is easier since they are more common. . For example, in October of 2022, one of the lead actors in Broadway’s Hadestown repeatedly called out an audience member for allegedly recording the show. However, that is not what the audience member was doing – she was utilizing a closed captioning device. The lead actor’s decision to criticize and humiliate the audience member drew condemnation across the musical theater world and beyond. It sparked debate over whose job it is to monitor audience behavior, and when it is appropriate to confront someone you believe to be breaking the rules.
What are the next steps?
The first step in recovering from a mistake regarding accessibility is to honestly and profusely apologize. The error may have been made with the best intentions, but intentions do not excuse results if the results are harmful. After the Hadestown incident mentioned earlier, the showrunners first apologized to the affected audience member, both in writing and publicly, to show their regret that the incident took place and their commitment to do better.
It is important to follow the affected party’s lead on your apology: if their concern was brought up privately, it might not be the best idea to go public with the incident – your affected customer may not want that attention. However, if the customer complained on social media or online, visible to the general public, it is a wise idea to make your apology equally public and visible.
The second step is to suggest an actionable change. A problem in your services has been identified, which means change is necessary, but resist the temptation to oversell your options. For example, it is good to promise to do better in the future, but claiming never again to miss the mark is unrealistic, as mistakes can happen no matter how prepared you are.
For example, when Beyonce was confronted over ableist lyrics in a song, she apologized and took the initiative to change the offending verse. This is an excellent example of actionable change: as the artist, she is in control of the music she puts out. Making this change reaffirms her commitment to be more sensitive in the future.
The third step is to offer compensation, if applicable. This does not necessarily mean money – indeed, it’s better if it’s not, to avoid accusations of a hush-up – but instead can be anything from a gift certificate to your business, a free product, or, in the case of Hadestown, an invitation to return to enjoy the show, on the house.
Some companies may not have much to offer in the way of compensation, but for those who do, it is a good choice to reaffirm your regrets and compassion and display your willingness to grow and learn. Take care in considering what compensation you can offer, but if it’s something your company can manage, it’s a good idea.
Ensuring you do better in the future
Just as you do when ensuring accessible design and content, to fully recover from missing the accessibility mark, you must provide the opportunity for ADA and disability-specific training. This training should not be solely for the employee who made the error or for your employees alone – you must include every person in the company, including yourself. Nobody is immune to making mistakes, and to learn from those mistakes already made, everyone must give themselves a chance to learn.
Mistakes are not made only by customer-facing staff: ADA lawsuits can and often are brought against companies by employees or ex-employees who did not receive equal treatment or endured a hostile work environment. Employees can and do have poor judgment when dealing with fellow employees with disabilities. All staff should attend any training to prevent such incidents and continue their commitment to an accessible, inclusive workplace.
Conclusion
Everyone makes mistakes, especially when it comes to accessibility. When it happens, it is your responsibility as an employer or business owner to take steps to mitigate that error, regardless of how it happened. You can make amends in many ways but work hard to sincerely apologize and take the time to follow up with all employees and yourself in best practices for accessibility.
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