New York: a 2027 WCAG date for agencies, human rights law for everyone else

Section 103-d sets January 1, 2027 for state agency websites to conform to the most current version of WCAG at Level AA. It applies to sites created or modified with changes to form or function after the section took effect, and the law defines those changes broadly: redesigns of layout, color schemes, graphics or branding, and integration of dynamic interfaces.

An agency that cannot comply must post, by the same date, a written progress report on its website describing the steps taken, the obstacles, the work under way and an estimated time frame, and must update it every year. The duty applies to the extent practicable, and the section says it is not to be read as inconsistent with federal law. The federal Title II rule binds New York agencies on its own terms in any case.

Executive Law 296 bars places of public accommodation from denying anyone their accommodations, advantages, facilities or privileges because of disability. The Division of Human Rights describes public accommodations broadly, including entities that provide any type of goods or services to the public. The statute also counts a failure to provide auxiliary aids and services as discrimination, in language close to ADA Title III.

In New York City the city's Human Rights Law covers providers as well as places. The Commission on Human Rights, which enforces it, states in its legal enforcement guidance on disability that businesses that use websites should ensure their websites are designed to be compatible with screen-reading technology. That is the most direct official statement on business websites from any enforcement body on this list after California's.

State law here adds to federal law; it does not replace it. Every city, county, school district and special district in New York is bound by the federal Title II web rule, 28 CFR 35.200, which requires WCAG 2.1 Level AA on web content and mobile apps: from April 26, 2027 for public entities of 50,000 people or more, and from April 26, 2028 for smaller entities and special districts. State agencies are bound by the same rule at the earlier date.

Private businesses open to the public answer to ADA Title III. A private plaintiff can sue for an injunction and ask for attorney's fees; the Department of Justice can sue for damages and civil penalties. No federal regulation names a web standard for businesses, so audits use WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 Level AA as the working benchmark.

The statute lists what the report must contain: the steps the agency has taken to comply, the obstacles that prevented compliance, the work under way to come into compliance, and an estimated time frame. It must be posted publicly on the agency's website and updated every year from the date first posted.

A report that holds up is built from a measurement: which pages and templates fail which WCAG success criteria, what has been fixed and when, and what is scheduled. A report written without that is a statement of intent, and the statute asks for specifics.

A business serving New York customers, and especially one in New York City, should treat screen reader compatibility as a working requirement: labeled forms, keyboard access, text alternatives and correct headings, tested with a screen reader and not only with an automated check. A state agency or its web contractor should plan to the January 1, 2027 date and decide early whether a progress report will be needed.