Marriott website class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: Vivian Salazar filed a class action lawsuit against Marriott International Inc.
- Why: Salazar claims Marriott violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by allegedly failing to make its website fully and equally accessible to and independently usable by individuals who are blind or visually impaired.
- Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court.
Marriott International failed to design its website so that it would be fully and equally accessible to and independently usable by individuals who are blind or visually impaired, a new class action lawsuit alleges.
Plaintiff Vivian Salazar claims Marriott’s website is not compatible with screen-reading software used by individuals who are blind or visually impaired to access the internet.
Salazar, who is legally blind, argues Marriott is ultimately denying full and equal access to the products and services it offers, in an alleged violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
“Defendant’s website is subject to the ADA because the goods and services that Defendant offers on the website are an extension of the goods and services offered in Defendant’s brick-and-mortar hotels,” the Marriott class action states.
Salazar wants to represent a nationwide class of all legally blind individuals who have attempted to access Marriott’s website using screen-reading software since January 2022 and a California class who likewise attempted to access Marriott’s website from January 2022 to July 31, 2023.
Marriott website not coded to be compatible with screen-reading software, says class action
Marriott’s website contains “numerous” access barriers to screen-reading software, including, among other things, drop-down menus that are not properly coded to announce whether they are in an expanded or collapsed state, the Marriott class action alleges.
“These and other coding failures have prevented visually impaired users, such as Plaintiff and Class Members, from accessing the goods and services offered through Defendant’s website,” the Marriott class action states.
Salazar claims Marriott, in addition to allegedly violating the ADA, violated California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act. She is demanding a jury trial and requesting declaratory and injunctive relief along with an award of statutory damages for herself and all class members.
A similar class action lawsuit was filed against Marriott in May 2022 by a consumer arguing the hospitality company failed to make its website fully accessible to and independently usable by individuals who are blind or visually impaired.
Have you been denied equal access to goods and services offered on Marriott’s website? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiffs are represented by Thiago M. Coelho, Shahin Rezvani, Jennifer M. Leinbach, Jesenia A. Martinez and Jesse S. Chen of the Wilshire Law Firm, PLC.
The Marriott website class action lawsuit is Salazar v. Marriott International Inc., et al., Case No. 3:23-cv-06664, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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