What is Section 508 compliance?
"Section 508 Compliance Certification" is a term referring to conformity with a part of the 1998 amendment to the U.S. Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that requires all federal electronic and information technology (EIT) to be accessible to people with disabilities regardless of whether they work for the federal government or not.
Under Section 508, federal agencies are under a legal obligation to provide their employees with disabilities, as well as members of the public who have disabilities, access to EIT that is comparable to the access made available to other people.
The VPAT 508 and 508 compliance
To help manufacturers and vendors of EIT products and services effectively document the accessibility levels of their products and services, as well as help federal contracting officials and procurement teams in their research and bid evaluations for products and services with the most accessible features, the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) collaborated with the General Services Administration (GSA) to create the voluntary product accessibility template (VPAT).
Every business dealing with any digital products or services should complete a VPAT after undertaking the requisite VPAT 508 compliance test for the product or service. Filling out the VPAT document allows the business to provide documentation and explanations about the level of compliance with the Section 508 compliance requirements that its products or services meet.
The importance of Section 508 compliance for a business
Section 508 compliance has many benefits for businesses. These include the following:
- Avoiding lawsuits and the associated litigation fees and fines
Even though Section 508 compliance is only mandatory for federal organizations, businesses that associate with or receive funds from such organizations have to be 508 compliant in order to avoid risks such as lawsuits. Section 508 compliance vpat, therefore, means cutting down on litigation fees and fines for businesses.
- More customers
With about one in every four adults in the U.S. having a form of disability, businesses that are Section 508 compliant can use this as an opportunity to not only ensure they make life better for this segment of the population, but also win their interest in using their products and services. For businesses, providing solutions that reach out to untapped markets means having more customers buy their products and services. This translates to increased revenue and profits.
- Doing business with federal organizations
The federal government is the largest business partner in the world. Businesses that exclude themselves from the federal business opportunities lose out in terms of competitive advantage to those who have made efforts to be 508 compliant.
- Saving costs
Section 508 compliance translates into reduced operational costs. For example, according to the business-related VPAT 2022 success stories, many businesses indicate that the customized services they procured as a result of a targeted focus on the accessibility issues identified through Section 508 VPAT audits saved them the money they could have used to perform full-cycle accessibility diagnostics on their products and services.
The accessibility conformance report (ACR) generated as part of the Section 508 compliance ecosystem of processes also helps to save the time and resources a business could have spent enlightening customers about its products and services. With an accessible ACR, customers can review the features a product or service has and only revert to the business for clarifications and the actual purchase.
- Enhanced innovation
The VPAT audits that are performed as part of Section 508 compliance help a business identify and deal with any accessibility issues existing in its products or services. This provides the product or service development teams with insights that help them continuously bring innovations to the product or service. This results in continuous improvement of the quality of the product or service.
Need help with Section 508 compliance?
You can get the help you need with Section 508 compliance by discussing your compliance needs with accessibility professionals like ADACP and having them assist you through the VPAT compliance processes. If you need further assistance, you can always call (626) 486-220 to speak with an accessibility expert.