Blind Consumers Denied Equal Access to HelloFresh.com, Class Action Alleges

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A proposed class action alleges Hello Fresh has unlawfully discriminated against visually impaired consumers by failing to make its website navigable by screen-reading software.

The 27-page lawsuit in New York claims that defendant Grocery Delivery E-Services USA, Inc., who offers meal plans for delivery and other food-related products and services through HelloFresh.com, has violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by unlawfully excluding visually impaired consumers, i.e. those with a visual acuity with correction of less than or equal to 20 x 200, from accessing its website.

The case says that although accessibility technology is available and in use by other popular websites, HelloFresh.com nevertheless contains “thousands of access barriers that make it difficult if not impossible” for blind and visually impaired customers to navigate the site and complete transactions using screen-reading software.

“Despite readily available accessible technology, such as the technology in use at other heavily trafficked retail websites, which makes use of alternative text, accessible forms, descriptive links, resizable text and limits the usage of tables and JavaScript, Defendant has chosen to rely on an exclusively visual interface,” the complaint states, claiming Hello Fresh has violated blind consumers’ basic equal access rights under both state and federal law.

The lawsuit was filed by a legally blind Bronx, New York resident who uses Job Access With Speech (JAWS), one of the most popular screen reading programs, to navigate the internet.

According to the case, international website standards organization The World Wide Web Consortium has established guidelines for making websites accessible to visually impaired consumers who use screen reading software such as JAWS. These guidelines include implementing basic accessibility components, including by adding alt-text for graphics, ensuring that all website functions can be performed using a keyboard rather than a mouse, making image maps accessible and adding appropriate headings to allow blind users to easily navigate the site, the lawsuit relays.

The case claims, however, that HelloFresh.com contains multiple accessibility barriers, including a lack of alt-text on graphics, inaccessible drop-down menus, inaccurate navigation links, a lack of adequate prompting and labeling, and the denial of keyboard access for some site components, including when completing a purchase.

The plaintiff claims to have attempted to complete a purchase on HelloFresh.com on several occasions but was unable to do so due to the accessibility barriers he allegedly faced when navigating the site.

The plaintiff looks to represent all legally blind individuals in the U.S. who have attempted to access HelloFresh.com but were denied access to the enjoyment of goods and services offered by the site during the relevant statutory period.

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