Alicia Juarez, who is blind, reached out to Disability Rights California for assistance in getting access to Los Angeles Sheriffs Department webpages to schedule visits and keep informed about her son in LASD’s jail facilities. Like many people with visual impairments, Ms. Juarez navigates the Internet using software that reads webpages aloud to her. The LASD webpages did not work with her screen reader, preventing her from independently being able to make appointments. DRC and co-counsel ,the Law Office of Lainey Feingold, engagedLASD in a Structured Negotiations Process to resolve LASD’s web access issues.

A final settlement was approved by the LASD in August 2017. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) will take affirmative steps to make its webpages, including its inmate information center and visit scheduling system, accessible and inclusive to people with visual impairments. LASD has adopted the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.0 level AA as its accessibility standard and is making enhancements to meet this standard. LASD will continue to make accessibility improvements over the next year.

Case Name: Juarez/Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Structured Negotiations Settlement

Co-Counsel: Law Office of Lainey Feingold

Plaintiff: Alicia Juarez

Significant Court Documents

Settlement Agreement (Accessible PDF)
Settlement Agreement (Docx)

News Release

Los Angeles sheriff’s department enhances website accessibility for people with visual impairments (Docx)
Los Angeles sheriff’s department enhances website accessibility for people with visual impairments (PDF)