New York ADA Website Compliance Guide

🚨 NEW YORK: DROPPED TO #3 BUT MORE DANGEROUS THAN EVER

1,471 federal ADA lawsuits filed in 2025 (Seyfarth Shaw Annual Report) — dropping New York to #3 nationally behind California (3,252) and Florida (1,823) for the first time. But this decline is deceptive: plaintiffs are migrating en masse to state courts where standing requirements are lower and monetary damages are higher. Total litigation risk (federal + state) remains critically high. Government entities face unprecedented compliance pressure under both federal ADA Title II and New York state laws.

⚖️ Triple Legal Jeopardy - NY State Laws: • NY State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL): Broader disability protections than federal ADA, allows compensatory damages • NYC Human Rights Law (NYCHRL): Civil penalties up to $125,000 (unintentional) or $250,000 (intentional violations) • NY Civil Rights Law: Statutory damages, attorney fees, and injunctive relief • All three laws have lower standing requirements than federal ADA

🎯 2025 Game Changer - State Court Migration: The 16% decline in federal filings masks accelerating litigation risk. Following federal court rulings requiring stricter standing proof (post-Acheson), plaintiff attorneys increasingly file under NYSHRL/NYCHRL in state courts. State courts have lower barriers to standing and allow monetary damages unavailable under federal ADA. True case volume is likely in the thousands when including state court filings, making New York the most dangerous jurisdiction for website accessibility litigation.

📊 Serial Plaintiff Ecosystem & Judicial Frustration: • 66% of 2024 cases filed by just 5 law firms • 41% of 2024 filings (961 cases) were against previously-sued entities • NY federal judges increasingly frustrated with cookie-cutter template complaints, applying heightened scrutiny in 2025 • Some NY firms now filing 745% more cases in Illinois to avoid hostile NY federal courts • Three-year statute of limitations (extended Feb 2024) gives plaintiffs expanded filing window

🏛️ Government Entity Compliance Requirements: DOJ's April 2024 Title II final rule mandates WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliance: • April 24, 2026 deadline for entities serving 50,000+ population • April 26, 2027 for smaller municipalities and special districts • 3,366 NY government entities must comply (1,523 cities + 62 counties + 731 school districts + 1,050 special districts)

💰 Settlement Economics (2025): Average government settlement: $55,000 (conservative estimate - NYC metro settlements frequently exceed $100,000). Attorney fees often equal or exceed base settlements. State law violations add compensatory damages and civil penalties on top of federal exposure, creating total exposure potentially exceeding $200,000+ for NYC-area entities.

🚫 Accessibility Overlay Warning: 25% of 2024 lawsuits explicitly cited accessibility widgets/overlays as barriers rather than solutions. FTC fined AccessiBe $1M in January 2025 for deceptive compliance claims. Automated overlay products do NOT provide safe harbor from litigation.

⏰ Critical Action Timeline: With H1 2025 showing 637 federal cases and unmeasured state court migration accelerating, New York government entities face existential compliance risk. The decline in federal filings is NOT a reprieve - it signals a strategic shift to more dangerous state court litigation. Early WCAG 2.1 AA remediation essential. Emergency compliance costs 3-4x normal rates. Defer at your peril.