http://www.fpmi.com/FedNews/DailyNews.html

FINAL RULE OUT ON ELECTRONIC ACCESS FOR FEDS WITH DISABILITIES

The Civilian Acquisition Council and the Defense Regulations Council
have agreed on a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition
Regulation (FAR) to implement Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act
of 1973. These regulations were published in the Federal Register of
April 25 with an effective date of 60 days after publication.
Subsection 508(a)(3) requires the FAR to be revised to incorporate
standards developed by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers
Compliance Board.

For other than indefinite-quantity contracts, this amendment applies
to contracts awarded on or after the effective date. For
indefinite-quantity contracts, it is applicable to delivery orders or
task orders on or after the effective date.

For background on this rule, Subsection 508(a)(1) requires that when
federal departments or agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use
electronic and information technology (EIT), they must ensure that
the EIT allows federal employees with disabilities to have access to
and use of information and data that is comparable to the access to
and use of information and data by other federal employees. Section
508 also requires that individuals with disabilities, who are members
of the public and who are seeking services or information from a
federal department of agency, have access to and use of information
and data that is comparable to that provided to the public without
disabilities.

Topics covered in the final rule include applicability of the
regulations, exceptions to the regulations, what is meant by an undue
burden, and related issues. For more information, interested parties
should contact the FAR Secretariat at (202) 501-4755 for information
pertaining to status or publication schedules. For clarification of
the content of the rule, interested parties should contact Linda
Nelson, Procurement Analyst, at (202)
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