Law / United States / 
Texas
Texas disability discrimination in public facilities, with the notice-and-cure procedure for claims that a website accessibility standard was not met
Tex. Hum. Res. Code secs. 121.003, 121.004 and 121.0041
In force since .
A disability discrimination rule binding public and private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Prohibition
What it requires
- No Texas statute or rule names a technical standard for a business's website or app under chapter 121; section 121.0041 treats Internet website accessibility guidelines, where another state or federal law requires them, as one of the technical standards an action under section 121.004(b) can allege were not met (Tex. Hum. Res. Code sec. 121.0041(b)).
- If you own or operate a retail business, commercial establishment, office building or other place of public accommodation to which the general public is invited, do not deny a person with a disability the full use and enjoyment of it, including by a ruse or subterfuge calculated to discourage the person from using it (Tex. Hum. Res. Code secs. 121.002(5) and 121.003(a) and (d)).
- Make reasonable accommodations in your policies, practices, and procedures, and provide the auxiliary aids and services necessary to allow the full use and enjoyment of the public facility (Tex. Hum. Res. Code sec. 121.003(d)(2) and (3)).
- If you receive a written notice, given at least 60 days before suit, that you failed to comply with an applicable technical standard such as Internet website accessibility guidelines, you may correct the alleged violation before the claimant may file, and must then send the claimant a notice describing each correction or explaining why none is needed (Tex. Hum. Res. Code sec. 121.0041(c) to (e)).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Private right of actionYes
Criminal exposure note
A violation of section 121.003 is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $300 and 30 hours of community service (Tex. Hum. Res. Code sec. 121.004(a)).
Statutory damages
Section 121.004(b): a person with a disability deprived of civil liberties by a violation of section 121.003 may maintain an action for damages, and there is a conclusive presumption of damages in the amount of at least $300.
- As of
- Currency
- USD
- Per person minimum
- 300
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Private civil action by the person with a disability under section 121.004(b); a violation of section 121.003 is also an offense under section 121.004(a)
Settledness
Chapter 121 names no technical standard for a website; section 121.0041 sets the procedure for a claim that a standard required by another applicable law, including Internet website accessibility guidelines, was not met.
- As of
- Open questions
- Does the reference to 'any public facility' in Section 121.003 reach the website or app of a business that has no physical place open to the public in Texas?
What this law does
Persons with disabilities have the same right as persons without disabilities to the full use and enjoyment of any public facility in the state.
A public facility includes a retail business, commercial establishment, or office building to which the general public is invited, a college dormitory or other educational facility, and any other place of public accommodation, amusement, convenience, or resort to which the general public or any classification of persons from the general public is regularly, normally, or customarily invited.
The discrimination prohibited includes a refusal to allow a person with a disability to use or be admitted to a public facility, a ruse or subterfuge calculated to prevent or discourage a person with a disability from using or being admitted to a public facility, and a failure to comply with chapter 469 of the Government Code, to make reasonable accommodations in policies, practices, and procedures, or to provide auxiliary aids and services necessary to allow the full use and enjoyment of the public facility.
A person, including a firm, association, corporation, or other public or private organization, or the agent of the person, who violates section 121.003 commits an offense that is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $300 and 30 hours of community service.
A person who violates section 121.003 is deemed to have deprived a person with a disability of his or her civil liberties, and the person with a disability may maintain an action for damages in which there is a conclusive presumption of damages in the amount of at least $300.
Section 121.0041 applies to an action under section 121.004(b) alleging a failure to comply with applicable design, construction, technical, or similar standards required under chapter 469 of the Government Code or other applicable state or federal laws, including Internet website accessibility guidelines.
Not later than the 60th day before the date such an action is filed, the claimant must give the respondent written notice stating the name of the individual alleging the failure, each alleged violation in reasonable detail, and the date, place, and manner in which the claimant discovered it. The notice may not demand a sum of damages, request settlement, or offer to settle the claim without a determination of whether a condition stated in the notice is excused by law or may be remedied.
A respondent who has received the notice may correct the alleged violation before the earliest date on which the claimant may file the action.
If the claimant files the action, the claimant must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the respondent has not corrected one or more of the alleged violations stated in the notice, and the court must abate the action for up to 60 days after a hearing if the respondent began correcting the violation in time, could not complete the corrections in that time, and will complete them by the end of the abatement.
Once the respondent has given the notice of correction or completed corrections during an abatement, the claimant may move to dismiss the action without prejudice or the respondent may move for summary judgment. Section 121.0041 was added by Acts 2017, 85th Legislature, chapter 342 (House Bill 1463), effective .
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app ships a consumer interface.
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