KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE You can read all of our articles on our website. Having trouble getting our emails? Change your spam controls and whitelist ken@kirschenbaumesq.com ****************************** Comment on ADA Website compliance - legal shake down? / Specialty Contracts sale ends tomorrow January 18, 2024 *************************** Comment on ADA Website compliance - legal shake down? from article on January 5, 2024 **************************** Ken, With regards to insurance coverage on the ADA website compliance issue, you may be able to find coverage under an Employment Practices Liability policy if you buy a stand-alone policy that includes Third Party Liability coverage. Third-party employment practices liability coverage refers to a separate insuring agreement contained within employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) policies that covers liability claims brought by nonemployees (typically, customers, clients, and vendors) against employees of the insured organization. This isn’t a standard coverage as part of your Package Policy and would need to be bought separately. Thanks, Jeff Schulz, CIC, CRM Principal J. Krug Insurance | Employee Benefits | Financial Services 847.818.7508 schulz@jkrug.com ********************************** Another comment ********************************** Ken, Regarding your reader’s question to Jennifer about ADA Website compliance suits, yes they are a shakedown, but also yes that you have to take them seriously and get legal assistance to respond/combat them if you receive one. We’ve heard quite a few of these stories, as I’m sure have many of your readers. In fact, some may choose to share how they’ve dealt with what has been called legal extortion, and you may hear some entertaining stories of company counsel taking aggressive action to respond. In California the previous iteration of this frivolous litigation were the lawsuits filed claiming someone with disabilities had attempted to enter a business and/or use its public restrooms, but encountered difficulties due to lack of ADA compliance. Settlement was often offered at an amount slightly under what it would cost to defend the accusation. The main attorney driving this crap was eventually busted for filing false tax returns, so karma is apparently an equal opportunist. Who knows if a similar development will ever stem the tide of these latest ADA compliance suits for websites. One point of clarification on insurance’s role in addressing these suits: its most often NOT insurable under Cyber. I ran this by one of my Cyber underwriters and here’s their reasons why Cyber would probably not cover an ADA Website compliance lawsuit: * There’s no data breach or security failure alleged * There’s no violation of a privacy law (it’s an anti-discrimination law, not privacy) * Cyber policies generally exclude claims arising from discrimination A possible alternate source for coverage for this cause of action could be Employment Practices Liability (EPLI), IF the company carries it (it’s not a legally mandated coverage), and IF their EPL policy includes Third Party Coverage, which not all of them do since the first word in EPL is “Employment”, meaning this is a coverage primarily designed to address negligence of an Employer towards Employees. So companies are well advised to check with their insurance broker to see if they have this coverage, and then to see if it has the appropriate 3rd Party Coverage to address discrimination towards outside parties. And if it doesn’t, then decide if it’s worth the extra premium to switch to a policy that does cover it. In this case, an ounce of prevention is worth an pound of cure, and spending a few dollars on having a compliance company review and/or fix your website so it’s certified as ADA compliant may be a less expensive and worthwhile alternative to fielding an ADA Website lawsuit. Thanks, Larry St John, CIC, CRM Eclipse Marketing & Insurance Services lstjohn@eclipseinsurance.com 707.469.6776 x102 ****************************** Response ***************************** This is really something you shouldn’t ignore. Class action law suits pop up all the time for ADA violations; K&K is defending a class action now. Be sure to consult with your website developer to make sure you are ADA compliant. Compliance will be cheaper than the insurance and much cheaper than defending a law suit. ***************************** Specialty Contracts to expand your business ends tomorrow ******************************* You all know that K&K offers agreements and forms that are recognized as the gold standard in the alarm, security and fire alarm and protection businesses. K&K also offers other agreements that are closely related to your security business. You may already be engaging in these businesses, without a proper contract, or these contracts may give you the idea and impetus to expand your business to include these services. The Outdoor Living Space agreement for outdoor kitchens, lighting, audio and video and fire features was inspired by AIN Group which has expanded its security program to the outdoor living space contractors [which would require a home improvement or general contracting license as opposed to an alarm license]. Other specialty form agreements include: * generator installation and service, * solar panels, * digital signs, * home watch * answering service These form agreements can be found in the miscellaneous section of Alarm Contracts at www.alarmcontracts.com. K&K also has oil equipment installation and oil supply agreements. Call K&K Contract Administrator Eileen Wagda at 516 747 6700 x 312 or EWagda@Kirschenbaumesq.com for details and obtaining these oil contracts To help get you started for the new year these forms will be on sale this week at 25% off list price. AIN members will get an additional 10% off [be sure to identify yourself as an AIN Member] and Concierge Clients will get another 10% off. When ordering the full price will appear on the order form and will apply the discounts when processing the order. ****************************** STANDARD FORMS Alarm / Security / Fire and related Agreements click here: www.alarmcontracts.com *************************** CONCIERGE LAWYER SERVICE PROGRAM FOR THE ALARM INDUSTRY - You can check out the program and sign up here: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/concierge or contact our Program Coordinator Stacy Spector, Esq at 516 747 6700 x 304. *********************** ALARM ARTICLES: You can always read our Articles on our website at ww.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/alarm-articles updated daily ******************** THE ALARM EXCHANGE - the alarm industries leading classified and business exchange - updated daily ************************* Wondering how much your alarm company is worth? Click here: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/what-is-my-alarm-company-worth ****************************** Getting on our Email List / Email Articles archived: Many of you are forwarding these emails to friends or asking that others be added to the list. Sign up for our daily newsletter here: Sign Up. You can read articles and order alarm contracts on our web site www.alarmcontracts.com ************************** Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC Attorneys at Law 200 Garden City Plaza Garden City, NY 11530 516 747 6700 x 301 ken@kirschenbaumesq.com www.KirschenbaumEsq.com
