Disability advocates are suing after the Trump administration abruptly delayed a pair of rules designed to improve accessibility right before they were set to take effect.
The lawsuit filed by the National Federation of the Blind challenges the last-minute delays from the U.S. Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services.
Both regulations in question were finalized under the Biden administration and sought to ensure better accessibility of online services for people with disabilities. The Justice Department rule was issued under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the HHS rule was part of an update to regulations under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
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The Justice Department rule applies to online offerings from state and local government entities including courts, public hospitals, parks, libraries, police, transit agencies, school districts and universities. The rule was supposed to start taking effect in April, but is now pushed back a year. The agency indicated that it might reopen the rule to changes in the interim.
The HHS rule imposes web accessibility standards for most new web content, mobile apps and medical kiosks offered by hospitals, doctors, social services providers and others who receive funding from HHS. The first compliance deadline was scheduled for May, but is now set for May 2027. The health agency said it plans to use the next year to reconsider the “substantive requirements” of the 2024 rule.
Both the Justice Department and HHS issued interim final rules that took effect immediately to announce the delays. The agencies said that the changes were necessary because many affected entities were unprepared to comply by the initial deadlines. They cited challenges related to staffing, technology and cost.
The lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland alleges that the delays violate the Administrative Procedures Act because the Trump administration did not provide the required notice and opportunity for the public to comment before the interim final rules were issued and implemented. In addition, the National Federation of the Blind alleges that federal officials did not adequately consider the harm to people with disabilities.
The group’s lawsuit cites examples of individuals with disabilities who have struggled to pay medical bills, apply for unemployment benefits, learn about local events, enroll in university courses, utilize telehealth therapy services and more because of inaccessible technology.
“For over fifty years, our laws — specifically Section 504 of the Rehabilitation act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act — have promised blind Americans and other Americans with disabilities equal access to all areas of life, including digital spaces and services. Yet today this promise remains unfulfilled, and now our government is compounding the outrage by asking us to wait even longer,” said Mark Riccobono, president of the National Federation of the Blind. “We will not wait. We will fight to ensure that the promise of America’s laws, and indeed its founding documents, finally becomes reality for blind and disabled Americans.”
The National Federation of the Blind is asking the court to throw out the recently issued interim final rules and reinstate the original compliance deadlines.
Officials with the Justice Department and HHS did not respond to requests for comment about the lawsuit.
