Our objectives were to review the Office for Civil Rights’ (OCR) process for resolving web accessibility complaints that were previously dismissed and subsequently reopened as directed investigations and OCR’s approach to evaluating web accessibility complaints submitted after the November 2018 revision of its Case Processing Manual.
Among our findings, we determined that OCR’s resolution of web accessibility complaints previously dismissed under section 108(t) and subsequently reopened as directed investigations differed from how these reviews were resolved in the past, specifically regarding whether a compliance determination was made, and that determinations staff made were inappropriate based on the level of testing performed. As a result of OCR’s changes to its procedures and the unclear way these changes were implemented, it could be difficult for people unfamiliar with OCR’s process to understand OCR’s procedures for processing these complaints. We also found that OCR changed its approach to evaluating new web accessibility complaints beginning in December 2018, more frequently applying a section of its Case Processing Manual to dismiss allegations and complaints for insufficient evidence even though the evidence provided by complainants before and after December 2018 was similar.
We made two recommendations: that OCR update its website, as necessary, to clearly communicate evidence requirements that will assist a complainant in understanding what information is needed to support the filing of a successful web accessibility complaint; and that OCR determine whether the web accessibility complaints dismissed under section 108(b) since December 2018 should be reopened and reviewed in accordance with procedures in OCR’s July 2022 revision to its CPM, without the complainant needing to refile those complaints.
See additional OIG reports involving the Office for Civil Rights.