October 13, 2008

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Dear {!firstname}:

Welcome to Your WEBSITE LAW ALERT by Chip Cooper and DigiContracts.com

Chip's Commentary:

I started surfing (not surfing the Web, but riding waves in the ocean) relatively late in life.

It all began 6 years ago as a challenge from a young Bahamian guy on the beach at Pensacola, Florida. He said I could do it if I really wanted to... and that I should either just do it or stop talking about it.

So, I took him up on his challenge, and I started a long journey that continues to this day. I'll share with you more about it later.

Legal Compliance Requirements:

This is a follow-up to my September 24 newsletter which commented on the $6 million settlement by Target of a suit brought by the National Federation For The Blind. The suit alleged that Target's website violated the Americans For Disabilities Act because it was not accessible to the blind.

You should be aware that there are additional requirements regarding persons with disabilities.

If you sell software or online services to the US Government (or contemplate doing so), you should also be aware of the requirements of Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act Amendments, as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998.

Section 508 applies to all Federal agencies when they develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology (EIT). EIT clearly includes software, so if you license software to the US Government, you're subject to Section 508.

It's trickier for private sector websites. Generally, Section 508 applies only to Federal websites, but if you provides website services under contract to a Federal agency, the portion of your site that's covered by the contract is required to comply.

For general information about Section 508, click here.

For specific software-related requirements, click here.

For specific online services requirements, click here.

For the time being, this completes my comments regarding disability-related requirements.

Comments From Digicontracts.com:

If you provide notebook computers or cell phones for any of your employees, you should consider requiring them to enter into a bailment agreement.

Your bailment agreement should cover such things as the duty of care and who is responsible for loss to the equipment.

We have a simple bailment agreement available on our site as part of our Human Resources Set, Complete Ecommerce Library, and Complete Library.

Regards,

Share the "Website Law Alert" and my Special Reports:
"Determine Which Legal Documents Your Website Really Needs",
"Draft Your Own Website Privacy Policy", and
and "Write Your Own Website Marketing Copy - Legally",
with your colleagues and business associates.