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"The ADA website accessibility threat letters are not slowing down, and the League remains engaged in the latest news and developments so we can prepare and share information with our credit unions if a Maine CU receives a letter threatening legal action," stated Elise Baldacci, Vice President of Governmental Affairs for the Maine CU League, in response to an update call she participated in with the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) this past week. She added that a new tactic by the law firm originating these ADA website claims "is to try to get the cases moved to California in state court. Their new ‘play’ is to make state law claims in state court in CA, bringing in credit unions in other states. They argue that if the CU has members or ATMs in the State, that may be enough for personal jurisdiction."
CUNA experts on the call urged credit unions to come into compliance because "Congress isn't going to give us a solution as soon as we'd like and the Department of Justice isn't bringing any more clarity." CUNA also continues to file amicus briefs, most recently in Texas, Ohio and Alabama.
Baldacci said, "In the meantime, Maine CUs have a variety of resources through CUNA including model language that credit unions can start to put on their website. There is a lot of support and assistance available through CUNA's ADA web accessibility advocacy page. It's free and available to all Maine CUs."
Any credit union that receives a letter regarding ADA website accessibility should contact Elise Baldacci and CUNA's Chief Compliance Officer, Jared Ihrig, as soon as possible.
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