Accessibility & You: Practical tips for incorporating accessibility into your workplace
When meeting with people, we’ll often hear “I don’t work on websites, so accessibility doesn’t apply to me.” Accessibility applies to everyone in all aspects of your work and life, whether it’s working on a digital asset that will be used by members of the public or just taking your pets for a stroll around the block.
One area where accessibility can have a substantial impact is in the workplace. State and local governments have responsibilities as employers under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The Governor’s Office of Information Technology (OIT) Technology Accessibility Program (TAP) has put together several informational resources and tips to help state and local government agencies implement and enhance workplace IT accessibility.
Accessible Presentations
For most employees, virtual meetings are a prominent part of the workweek. Whether it is the daily huddle, weekly report out, team meetings, or customer-focused presentations, you can take your meeting game up a notch without having to know peoples’ disabilities.
If you are the host or simply a participant, incorporating the best practices below will help increase your virtual accessibility for meetings, training, presentations, and content. For more information, review the Accessible Meetings Checklist.
Slide Deck & Multimedia
- All images, graphics, tables, etc., have descriptions (alternative-text or alt-text) for screen readers.
- All videos have accurate captions.
- All audio-only content has a full transcript.
- Tables are properly formatted so they are easily read by screen readers.
- Page and section headings are used to organize content and make it easy to navigate.
- Text and graphics are meaningful when viewed without color.
- Descriptive hyperlink phrases (describes the attachment/link) are used instead of the URL alone or the phrase “click here.” For example, “Notes from Meeting” is a helpful hyperlink phrase.
- All documents and presentations have been reviewed with an accessibility checker.
Presentation Tips
- Be sure to test audio and video settings before the meeting.
- Share materials prior to the meeting in an agenda, email or chat message.
- Record and transcribe the meeting so that participants can review the information at a later time. Be sure to check if this is permitted by your organization and that the participants are comfortable with recording.
- Speak clearly, slow down, describe presentation content aloud, and repeat important information.
- Have people identify themselves before they speak.
- When responding verbally to questions in the chat, read the question aloud first for folks who cannot see or do not have the chat box open.
- Allow people options for how to ask questions (e.g., through chat, the microphone, etc.)
More Accessibility Tips for Commonly Used Applications
Google Workspace
- Google Meet
- How to use transcripts in Google Meet, Google Support
- How to use captions in Google Meet, Google Support
- Google Docs
- Google Slides
Microsoft Office
- Microsoft Word, Microsoft Support
- Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Support
Data visualization, how can that be accessible?!
By Chelsea Cook (she/her), OIT TAP Accessibility Consultant
Data is important to government agencies at all levels. Whether it’s presenting internally to employees or displaying a trend on a public website, making that data available to all users is crucial. “How can data visualization be accessible?” you may ask. Accessible data visualization can be done, it just takes some extra planning.
Tips for Making Data Accessible
- Think carefully about what your alternative text for a graph will say. For example, instead of saying, “Graph of Colorado population,” you could say, “Line graph of Colorado’s population by year, indicating an upward trend from 2010 to 2020.”
- Accompany your properly alt-tagged chart with the actual raw data. This ensures that anyone can access the data points used to make the chart, so they can analyze it in whichever way works for them. As a bonus, data scientists love this!
- Put the data in an easy-to-extract format in your digital content (e.g., a downloadable CSV file and/or a properly formatted table).
Can I get the same information from the data set as from your elegantly designed chart? Yes! Accessibility and complex data charts may seem at odds with each other, but combining them is achievable. It is all about equitable access for everyone. Learn how to create long descriptions for complex images.
In this issue, we’ll highlight tips on how to create accessible presentations and data visualizations. For more information about your responsibilities as an employer, please review this publication from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The U.S. Department of Labor also has information regarding reasonable accommodations in the workplace.
Accessibility Planning Updates
WCAG 2.2 Release Date Pushed to May 2023
WCAG 2.2 is scheduled to be completed and published in 2023 Q3 (July, August, or September). To learn more about the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Version 2.2, visit the What’s New in WCAG 2.2 web page.
Technology Accessibility Cleanup bill awaits Governor Polis’ signature
Senate Bill 23-244 clarifies the statutory language adopted in HB21-1110 to ensure the provision of reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities. This bill requires the Office of Information Technology (OIT) to undertake rulemaking to promulgate rules for accessibility standards for information technology systems employed by state agencies. SB23-244 also clarifies language regarding sanctions for an agency’s failure to comply with IT accessibility standards.
Additionally, this bill extends the length of time available for certain state agencies to spend funds appropriated for compliance with IT accessibility standards from FY 2023-24 to FY 2025-26. For more information, review the Cleanup Bill Fact Sheet.
Federal Grant Opportunity
Administration for Community Living Issues Grant Opportunity on Universal Access to Information and Communication Technology
The Administration for Community Living (ACL) has published a grant notice to fund a Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) that addresses the universal accessibility and usability of information and communication technology (ICT) for people with disabilities. The purpose of this RERC is to conduct research and development that ensure accessibility standards are met or exceeded for ICT, promote the availability and usability of individualized ICT configurations for people with disabilities, and identify barriers to sustainable innovations that provide universal access to ICT. The grant will have a 60-month project period, requiring five 12-month budget periods.
Grant applications are due June 5, 2023 via electronic submission. Eligible applicants, details about the grant, and other information can be found on Grants.gov.
Notable & Quotable
“Employers have recognized for some time that it’s smart business to have a diverse workforce — one in which many views are represented and everyone’s talents are valued. Well, disability is part of diversity.”
- Tom Perez, attorney, politician, and former senior federal government official - U.S. Secretary of Labor (2013-2017) and U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights (2009-2013)