Slate.com Leaves Out Blind Users, Class Action Alleges

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The Slate Group, LLC is the defendant in a proposed class action filed by a deaf New York man who alleges its flagship website, Slate.com, is not compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). According to the complaint, Slate.com contains access barriers that make it “difficult, if not impossible” for deaf and hard of hearing individuals to use the website and have access to the goods and services contained therein.

The lawsuit takes particular issue with ostensible access obstacles that make it hard for proposed class members to comprehend audio portions of videos posted on Slate.com. The plaintiff claims that although assistive technologies—namely closed captioning present on other popular video-centric sites like YouTube and Netflix—are readily available, the defendant has chosen to violate proposed class members’ civil rights by failing to equip its video content with legally mandatory accommodations.

“Just as buildings without ramps bar people who use wheelchairs, video content without captions excludes deaf and hard of hearing individuals,” the case argues.

The plaintiff seeks declaratory relief and for The Slate Group to correct its allegedly non-ADA-compliant policies.