Mika Pyyhkala and Lindsay Yazzolino claim they could not get past the H&R Block log-in page when they attempted to file their tax returns in 2012. The complaint alleges H&R Block's website excludes blind taxpayers from accessing the same online service available to other taxpayers.
Article 114 of the Massachusetts Constitution states:
"This amendment to the Massachusetts Constitution provides that no ‘otherwise qualified handicapped individual’ may ‘solely by reason of his handicap’ be discriminated against in the context of ‘any program or activity within the commonwealth.’"
Blind and vision impaired users can access content and services online through assistive technologies such as screen magnifiers or screen readers. While a screen magnifier enlarges the webpage, a screen reader converts text information into audible speech. Various techniques can be applied to the development of a website to make it accessible by such technologies. However, when these techniques aren't applied or considered, it presents barriers for people who use such assistive technology.
In a statement NFB president Dr Marc Maurer said, "As millions of Americans rush to prepare and file their taxes online using H&R Block’s popular websites, blind people are unable to do so because the company has refused to make its website accessible to us.
“For most blind people, this means that they must obtain assistance filing their tax returns, rather than having the option to do so privately and independently. The laws of the United States and the state of Massachusetts require, and blind Americans demand, that H&R Block make all of its online services accessible to blind taxpayers."
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