For the past several weeks, credit unions in Georgia have been acutely aware of the efforts under way with Congress to remedy an issue surrounding compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that has created an avenue for a rash of lawsuits against credit unions (and other industries). It has been a news deluge: communications from GCUA alerting of the issue, information from Growth by Design on the review, a risk alert from CUNA Mutual, blog posts and news articles, communication from CUNA CEO Jim Nussle, and – unfortunately for many credit unions across the country and in Georgia – class action lawsuit demand letters from an out-of-state attorney.
To summarize the efforts under way, credit unions are seeking guidance on what is required for websites and online banking software under the ADA. And, it is an issue that is not up to Congress – it falls to the Department of Justice (DOJ), which is being urged to provide relief and guidance. The DOJ began developing regulations to address this topic in 2010, issuing an advance notice of proposed rulemaking; however, it did not complete the process and has declared the effort inactive. But as it publicly considered the concept, it has created ambiguity and legal issues with potential non-compliance with something that is not regulation or law – and as such is opportunity for certain attorney(s).
To bring strength to the message on the issue with the DOJ, Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and Ron DeSantis (R-FL), both members of the House Judiciary Committee, are circulating a letter through the House to gather support from fellow lawmakers at request of credit unions. The letter calls on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to finalize and issue the regulation and set the rules, to put the issue to rest and prevent these mass-issued demand letters on credit unions. As of press time eight Georgia House members (Reps. Carter, Bishop, Ferguson, Woodall, Collins, Hice, Loudermilk and Allen) have signed onto the “Dear Colleague” letter. In the meantime, GCUA continues to work with the Georgia Congressional delegation, and has also contracted with an attorney from Thompson, O’Brien, Kemp and Nasuti to help credit unions that do not have legal counsel for a reduced fee.
And while it’s not the ADA, in other lawsuit-related news, credit unions saw a positive change when the Senate passed a bill to repeal the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s arbitration rule (H.J. Res. 111) on October 24th. The House had passed this same measure in July, so it now travels to President Trump for his signature, a move that should happen quickly. This is a victory for credit unions on the class action lawsuit front, as the CFPB rule encouraged even more class action lawsuits, which would impose major costs on credit unions and consumers; a Treasury report released on October 23rd cited this CFPB rule would generate more than 3,000 class action lawsuits imposing more than $500 million in additional legal defense fees. Stay tuned on the ADA front!
