New Point-Of-Sale ADA Lawsuits - Hospitality Business News - 2 views
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ada lawsuits hospitality restaurants business disabilities POS point-of-sale
shared by delaneyverger on 14 Sep 16
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For example, McDonalds was recently hit with a nationwide class action alleging that its new Coca-Cola Freestyle beverage dispensers violate the ADA because their touch-screen interfaces are inaccessible to the visually impaired.
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The availability of hefty damages in many states increases the potential exposure businesses face. For example, in California, a single violation with respect to a POS device, entitles the plaintiff to a minimum of $4,000 in statutory damages, plus his attorney’s fees and litigation expenses. Potential liability can be overwhelming when these type of lawsuits are brought as class actions.
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This article discusses how self-service POS systems are now under fire from the ADA for not being accessible to people with disabilities. Most of the lawsuits have claimed that the problems with these systems are 1) they are mounted too high or at angles that are inaccessible for people in wheelchairs, 2) they do provide captions for those with hearing disabilities, and 3) they do not provide tactile feedback for those with visual disabilities. The ADA provides guidance for different types of technology, such as ATMs and vending machines, but has not provided such guidelines for these new POS systems. Because of this, the courts are having difficulty determining how to better enable these POS devices to work for those with disabilities, having to determine what to do for each individual device. Furthermore, these lawsuits pose a big risk to these companies. Businesses need to better evaluate their POS devices in order to make them more user-friendly for all individuals.