1. JAN is a service of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy. 1 Making Online Application Systems Accessible Beth Loy, Ph.D., Principal Consultant Linda Carter Batiste, J.D., Principal Consultant

2.  Work As Your Partner:  Accessible Videos  Accessible Documents  Accessible Webcasts/Webinars  Accessible Social Networks  Accessible Online Application Systems  Accessible Websites Online App Accessibility 2

3. Section 503  Final Regulations: Published September 24, 2013  Effective Date: March 24, 2014  Prohibits Discrimination  Requires Affirmative Action 3

4. Online App Accessibility Section 503  Does not require accessibility  Accessibility is a recommended best practice 4

5. Online App Accessibility Section 503  Too Much of a Burden  No Consistent Guidelines  Other Agencies Are Working on Guidelines 5

6. Online App Accessibility Section 503  Accessibility Makes Sense  Saves Time and Money  Helps Prevent Discrimination 6

7. Best Practices Online App Accessibility 7

8. Tip 1: Review online application systems. Why a Human is Needed: Provide usable and understandable alternatives. Example: Explain to people with disabilities how they can get help using the online HR system and where to get reasonable accommodation. Online App Accessibility 8

9. Tip 2: Use text descriptions for visual material. Why a Human is Needed: Repetitive text descriptions for nonessential visual material are unnecessary. Example: Bullets Online App Accessibility 9

10. Tip 3: Caption audio and video. Why a Human is Needed: A determination of open, closed, and/or audio captions depends on audience, venue for distribution, and script. Example: JAN YouTube script Online App Accessibility 10

11. Tip 4: Maintain consistent page design. Why a Human is Needed: Headers, footers, content, and page navigation should be included in style sheets and given a skip option if applicable. Cognitive-related design elements are the most often overlooked. Example: Dropdowns/footers Online App Accessibility 11

12. Online App Accessibility 12

13. Tip 5: Minimize reliance on color. Why a Human is Needed: Computer generated testers show visually what sites will look like. Example: Red/green and blue/yellow Online App Accessibility 13

14. Website Testing Tools for Color  Color Laboratory  HTML Writers Guild's AWARE (Accessible Web Authoring Resources and Education) Center  http://wickline.org/ref/colorlab/ http://wickline.org/ref/colorlab/  Colorblind Design Evaluation  WebAIM at Center for Persons with Disabilities, USU  http://newmanservices.com/colorblind/default.asp http://newmanservices.com/colorblind/default.asp  Plug-ins available for Photoshop to simulate color deficiency Online App Accessibility 14

15. Tip 6: Allow keyboard navigation. Why a Human is Needed: Usability tests can ensure tab order fits the user’s needs. Example: Built-in tab order may need overridden. Online App Accessibility 15

16. Tip 7: Program items with audio, video, and motion elements with controls. Why a Human is Needed: Stop, go, pause, and volume elements are tested “hands-on.” Example: Skins may not accurately indicate ability to control elements. Online App Accessibility 16

17. Tip 8: Program the default human language of each page. Why a Human is Needed: The need to analyze accurate content to a user is a judgment call. Example: Use assistive technologies such as Braille translators and screen reading software. Online App Accessibility 17

18. Tip 9: Provide users with accessible documents. Why a Human is Needed: To fully test documents for accessibility, they need to be accessed and reviewed for logical order. Example: Use free screen reading software to review documents. Online App Accessibility 18

19. Tip 10: Evaluate the Website. Why a Human is Needed: Automatic checking is not a substitute for manually testing a Website for accessibility. Example: Use tools to test with multiple versions of browsers. Online App Accessibility 19

20. SNAP Your Website into Shape 1) Select your team, 2) No is not an answer, 3) Accept challenges, and 4) Prioritize accessibility first. Online App Accessibility 20

21.  green (fully accessible)  yellow (partially accessible)  red (inaccessible) flags  not applicable (NA) STEP #RESULTDESCRIPTIONRELEVANCE STEPS FOR ANALYSIS Online App Accessibility 21

22. 1 GREEN Does the site allow navigation with a screen reader? Online App Accessibility 22

23. 2 GREEN Does the site provide text alternatives for all non-text content? Online App Accessibility 23

24. 3 RED NOTE: No captioning/audio description found Does the site provide accessible multimedia (audio/visual (A/V) or alternatives) that allow users to understand the content? Online App Accessibility 24

25. 4 GREEN Does the site use other means of conveying information besides color? Online App Accessibility 25

26. 5 GREEN Does the site allow users to lower the volume or completely turn off any background audio content? Online App Accessibility 26

27. 6 GREEN Does the site allow navigation by a user who does not use a mouse? 7 GREEN Does the site provide users with enough time to read, understand, and interact with online content? 8 GREEN Does the site avoid content that flashes or blinks too quickly? Online App Accessibility 27

28. 9 GREEN Does the site allow the default human language of each page to be programmatically determined? Online App Accessibility 28

29. 10 GREEN Does the site present content in an organized manner that avoids unexplained changes in context? 11 GREEN Does the site help users avoid and correct mistakes? Online App Accessibility 29

30. 12 GREEN Does the site allow users to skip repetitive content? 13 GREEN Does the site provide fully accessible PDFs, PowerPoint documents, and online forms? Online App Accessibility 30

31. 14 RED NOTE: Not found Does the site display the company’s equal employment opportunity (EEO) policy statement? 15 RED NOTE: Not found Does the site explain to people with disabilities how they can get help using it and where to get reasonable accommodation if they cannot apply online? Online App Accessibility 31

32. Welcome to the Hiring Center Please read the following statement carefully: XXXXX offers reasonable accommodation in the employment process for individuals with disabilities. If you need assistance in the application or hiring process to accommodate a disability, you may request an accommodation at any time. Please contact any member of management at your nearest XXXXX facility. XXXXX is an Equal Opportunity Employer- By Choice. Online App Accessibility 32

33. Online App Accessibility XXXXX 33

34. Website Testing Tools  Functional Accessibility Evaluator  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign  http://fae.cita.uiuc.edu/ Online App Accessibility 34

35. Website Testing Tools  WAVE  WebAIM at Center for Persons with Disabilities, USU  http://wave.webaim.org/ Online App Accessibility 35

36. Website Testing Tools  Cynthia Says  Education and Outreach project of HiSoftware, International Center for Disability Resources on the Internet, and the Internet Society Disability and Special Needs Chapter  http://www.cynthiasays.com/ Online App Accessibility 36

37. Website Testing Tools  TAW (Spanish)  Center for Development of Information and Communication Technology (Headquarters of the Spanish W3C)  http://www.tawdis.net/ Online App Accessibility 37

38. Questions 38 Online App Accessibility

39. Contact  (800)526-7234 (V) & (877)781-9403 (TTY)  AskJAN.org & jan@askjan.org 39 Online App Accessibility