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GCN Home > May 28, 2001 issue

What 508 does and does not require

BY TONY LEE ORR | GCN STAFF

As June 21 nears, federal officials are honing a fine distinction between what is and is not required of them to make government systems accessible to disabled users.


The distinction turns on what is enforceable under Section 508, new Federal Acquisition Regulation rules and other accessibility mandates. Justice Department lawyers said they expect few lawsuits—at least initially—concerning the government’s compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998.

In Section 508, Congress mandated that agencies provide accessibility for all information technology they “develop, procure, maintain or use.” The law’s language is sweeping, covering everything from operating systems and application software to telecommunications services and Web sites.

The federal Access Board spelled out the standards for complying with 508 in rules drafted in December that, by law, had to take effect in six months, or June 21.

Further, as the amendments required, the FAR Council issued new procurement rules that call for all IT bought after June 25 to be accessible to disabled users.

The point of contention over what is ultimately required of agencies has arisen because the law identified no enforcement agency to oversee Section 508’s implementation. As one agency official put it: “There are no Section 508 police.”

Users can sue

The only hard-and-fast enforcement power comes from the FAR rules, contracting officials from several agencies said.

And though the law notes that making IT accessible must not pose an undue burden, it does provide a process for letting users of federal systems file suit if they consider compliance deficient. Ultimately, however, Congress can enforce its Section 508 demands through a number of avenues, such as budget limits and language in authorization bills.

The FAR rules allow for five exemptions:

  • Undue burden. This is the exemption that Justice officials said they expect agencies will use most frequently.

    Agencies buying software for a legacy system would likely look to the clause for relief if upgrades prove too expensive, said Mary Lou Mobley, a lawyer and compliance expert in Justice’s Civil Rights Division.

    Of course, an agency would first be required to prove that no software meeting the Access Board’s standards existed and is compatible with the legacy system in question, she said.


  • Micropurchases. For government credit card purchases of less than $2,500, agencies have until January 2003 to comply with 508. The Access Board, however, urged contracting officers to apply the standards to these buys whenever possible before 2003.


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