With new Attorney General William Barr confirmed, credit union concerns about demand letters threatening frivolous lawsuits over ADA accessibility of websites were highlighted last week. CUNA wrote to Attorney General Barr to call attention to the legal threats facing credit unions due to uncertainty with how the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to websites. Due to a lack of specific guidance, credit unions around the country have been hit with frivolous lawsuits claiming noncompliance with the ADA. Much work continues to find a solution to these concerns including:
- Joining with state leagues to file amicus briefs in defense of credit unions hit with these lawsuits, most recently in Michigan. CUNA also saw a victory in January with the dismissal of an appellate-level ADA case against a credit union;
- Meeting on several occasions with previous Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his staff, including a roundtable in December, and following up with detailed letters describing the issue and potential solutions;
- Coordinating with state leagues on a letter to Sessions from 19 state attorneys general including AG Chris Carr for Georgia to the DOJ expressing the need for a solution; and
- Engaging with both chambers of Congress, resulting in letters to Sessions from 103 members of Congress, and another from six senators (including several from Georgia). This engagement also resulted in language calling for clarity in the recent government funding bill signed by President Donald Trump last week.
