In 1998, Congress amended the Rehabilitation Act to require Federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities. Section 508 requires Federal agencies to ensure that their procurement of Electronic and Information Technology takes into account the needs of all end users—including people with disabilities. The Federal Government is now strictly enforcing the provisions of this act, requiring that all material placed on Federal websites meet the provisions of this act. The provisions of this act apply to Web pages and attached files for both Federal intranets and to public-facing pages.
The Federal Government is in the process of remediating their Websites, assuring that all pages and files meet the standards of Section 508. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has a detailed Compliance and Remediation Framework through 2012. They are also adding language to all contracts with third parties that require all files provided for placement on Websites be certified as Section 508 compliant. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provides language that is applicable to Statements of Work (SOW) or Performance Work Statements (PWS).
Rollins & Associates has significant experience with providing PDFs that meet the strict current standards for 508 compliance as defined by various Federal agencies. We are prepared to assist you with either training or actual document production.
For more information about what Section 508 is and how to produce Section 508 compliant PDFs, read the following information: