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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span><b style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><i>The most a public entity may be able to do may</i></b><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span><b style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><i>be
to expressly contract for compliance </i></b></p>
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">CONTRACTING COMPLIANCE:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Accessibility Policies & Third Party contracts, what can you learn from architecture?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Many colleges have developed a thoughtful, well crafted digital accessibility policy and are seeing considerable success with campusawareness and internal digital development and
content creation but are hitting a wall when it comes large scale enterprise purchases that form our digital infrastructure. From content management to self-service functions these tools often fall short of functionally meeting accessibility standards and require
negotiating improvements from the vendor or extensive exceptions with costly work-arounds. While most contracts have a "nuclear" option – you can walk away from the contract if the product does not comply with all state and federal regulations - that is
not a realistic threat or compliance tool when it takes 3-8 years to walk away. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">There needs to be additional contract language that incentivizes contractors and vendors tasked with designing and updating your infrastructure. Contract clauses
for indemnification andproportionate penalties (e.g. refunds on license fees for days out of compliance). A recent case about airport facilities (City of Los Angeles v. AECOM Services, Inc., 854 F.3d 1149) can inform your conversation. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">As a background, the ADA does not speak directly to indemnity which has led some courts, including then 9th Circuit, to conclude that like other civil rights statute
the ADA creates a ”non-delegable” duty. The logic is that if the law allows any party toassign any part of their civil rightsobligation though indemnification itwould dilute, if not undercut, the goals of equity and inclusion the law embodies. This logic
works well for the general prohibition of non-discrimination but overlooks the reality that the ADA reaches beyond local laws, policies and practices and into the built environment (physical and virtual). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Compliance with technical standards in the context of architectural and digital infrastructure often necessitates heavy reliance on both the technical expertise and
the representations of third parties in ways that are unique from other civil rights statutes. Similarly, the financial consequence of mistaken reliance on third parties are often considerable. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"<i>The most a public entity may be able to do </i>in furtherance of its duties under the respective acts <i>may</i>, in many situations, <i>be to expressly contract
for compliance </i>(contractual provisions for which it will potentially have to pay a premium to the contractor). From there, <i>the entity best situated to ensure full compliance may well be the contractor tasked with designing or constructing the public
resource in question, and precluding contract clauses for contribution (indemnification) reduces a contractor’s incentives to do so."</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font color="#000000"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="https://www.gmsr.com/case/city-los-angeles-v-aecom-services-inc-april-24-2017-ninth-circuit-no-15-56606-__-f-3d-__-2017-wl-1431084/">City
of Los Angeles v. AECOM Services, Inc., 854 F.3d 1149</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><font color="#000000" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="https://www.gmsr.com/case/city-los-angeles-v-aecom-services-inc-april-24-2017-ninth-circuit-no-15-56606-__-f-3d-__-2017-wl-1431084/" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">https://www.gmsr.com/case/city-los-angeles-v-aecom-services-inc-april-24-2017-ninth-circuit-no-15-56606-__-f-3d-__-2017-wl-1431084/</a>. </font></p>
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<div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">L. Scott Lissner, </span></div>
<div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The Ohio State University </span></div>
<div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> ADA Coordinator and 504 Compliance Officer <br>
Associate, John Glenn School of Public Affairs<br>
Lecturer, Knowlton School of Architecture, Moritz College of Law & Disability Studies<br>
Board, Center for Disability Empowerment & VSA Ohio<br>
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<div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Chair, Public Policy Committee, AHEAD<br>
<br>
<a href="tel:(614)%20292-6207" x-apple-data-detectors="true" x-apple-data-detectors-type="telephone" x-apple-data-detectors-result="0">(614) 292-6207</a>(v); <a href="tel:(614)%20688-8605" x-apple-data-detectors="true" x-apple-data-detectors-type="telephone" x-apple-data-detectors-result="1">(614)
688-8605</a>(tty) <a href="tel:(614)%20688-3665" x-apple-data-detectors="true" x-apple-data-detectors-type="telephone" x-apple-data-detectors-result="2">(614) 688-3665</a>(fax); <a href="http://ada.osu.edu/" x-apple-data-detectors="true" x-apple-data-detectors-type="link" x-apple-data-detectors-result="3">Http://ada.osu.edu</a><br>
21 East 11th Ave</span><span style="font-size: 13pt; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">., Columbus, Ohio. 43210</span></div>
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