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What Is Section 508; And What Does It Mean To You?
| What
is Section 508?
For all practical purposes Section
508 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act provides for a centralized
repository - a database - of information where Federal agencies
(and private citizens, should they choose to do so) may go to find
information on products that are claimed by their manufacturers
to be compliant with the act. As such it is a valuable resource
for gaining information about products that may be of use in helping
to accommodate a certain disability - or in finding a product that
will help prevent or provide remedial help with a repetitive strain
injury (RSI).
What It Is Not! It is not a guarantee that products listed are 508 compliant or that they will solve every disability problem there is. In other words, the Federal government does not police the database to ensure that manufacturers' claims are correct. They say they will respond to complaints, however. Common sense tells us that there is no single solution to any given problem with human anatomy and physiology. |
In
the Federal Government's own words:
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation
Act requires that when Federal agencies develop, procure, maintain,
or use electronic and information technology, they shall ensure
that this technology allows:
"Section 508 requires that Federal agencies' electronic and information technology is accessible to people with disabilities. The Center for Information Technology Accommodation (CITA), in the U.S. General Services Administration's Office of Governmentwide Policy, has been charged with the task of educating Federal employees and building the infrastructure necessary to support Section 508 implementation. Using this web site, Federal employees and the public can access resources for understanding and implementing the requirements of Section 508." Note: The scope of Section 508 is limited to the Federal sector. It does not apply to the private sector, nor does it generally impose requirements on the recipients of Federal funds. |
| What It Means To You: | |
|
But the Section 508 database, in general,
is an excellent resource to use when seeking products that may help
prevent or resolve a problem you might be facing.
We, at Contour Design, Inc., have been instrumental in working with the Federal agencies responsible for determining which classes of products - particularly computer input devices - should be listed on the Section 508 database. In so doing, we have made information about our products available to a wider range of persons, both with and without disabilities, than might be done through any other means of getting such information made public. We believe that our products produce
beneficial results - the hundreds of thousands of them that we have
shipped to Customers, the positive feedback that continues to stream
into our offices, the awards we have received, and the results of
independent studies about their benefits substantiate our pride
in them. |
We feel that when you link to information about our products on both the 508 and our own web sites you will gain valuable and insightful information about products that can directly address problems you may have in securing pain-free computer "mousing." Contour
Section 508 Compliance Details We also know that some of our competitors have made what we feel are outrageous claims that being in the 508 database ensures that their products are, in fact, compliant - just because they are so listed. Thanks for visiting our web site and, we hope, gaining some insights on Section 508 that are new to you. |
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