Are Contractor’s required to meet Section 508 Compliance?

Contractors are not required to develop products that meet the requirements of Section 508. Only Federal agencies are required to procure, develop, use or maintain compliant EIT products and to provide comparable access to employees and members of the public with disabilities. However, if the EIT product would come into Federal hands as part of a contract deliverable and the contract required Section 508 conformance then the contractor would be required to produce an EIT product that met the Section 508 requirements – this is called conformance. Contractors do not have to come into a contract with a Federal agency with 508 compliant products. The Federal agency would have to make Section 508 conformance a requirement of the contract and then the contractor is obligated to produce an EIT product that was 508 conformant.