Talbots Class Action Claims Website Not Accessible To Blind, Visually Impaired

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Talbots ADA Class Action Lawsuit Overview:

• Who: A would-be Talbots customer is suing the retailer in a class action lawsuit.
• Why: The plaintiff claims Talbots’ website is inaccessible to visually impaired and legally blind folks who use screen-reading software. 
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in New York federal court.

A Talbots customer is suing the retail company for its failure to maintain an accessible website, which discriminates against visually impaired and blind folks and violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Elbert Dawkins is the lead plaintiff. He visited www.talbots.com on several occasions to make a purchase but was unable to determine with his screen reader what specific products were offered. 

Talbots Website Fails ADA Compliance, Class Action Alleges

Blind and visually impaired people can access websites through screen-reading software, as long as the website is designed to allow its components to be rendered into text. Guidelines for creating an accessible site have been set by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

The Talbots class action lawsuit claims the company’s website lacks accessibility necessities. Many features lack alternative text, which is invisible code embedded beneath a graphical image. Without alt text, Dawkins cannot differentiate between products on the screen.

The website also lacks labels or titles for various fields, which prevents Dawkins and other users from knowing what to enter in a particular field, the class action says. Many pages use the same titles for different elements, which hinders the screen-reading software from differentiating pages from each other.

Finally, the website contains several broken links. Once a user encounters a broken link while using screen-reading software, they cannot navigate back to the previous page. 

Under the ADA, Dawkins wants Talbots to retain an acceptable qualified consultant to assist the company with its ADA website compliance. 

Dawkins seeks to represent a nationwide class and a New York state class of all legally blind individuals who have attempted to access Talbot’s website and have been denied equal access during the relevant statutory period.

Have you faced issues accessing Talbots’ website? You could be a part of this class action lawsuit!

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