BookR Accessibility and Non-Discrimination Policy
Effective Date: [Effective Date] Last Updated: [Last Updated]
1. PURPOSE
BookR seeks to operate a marketplace that is open to every person who is eligible to use it.
This Policy describes (a) the standard of non-discriminatory conduct BookR expects of Users, (b) BookR's commitments regarding accessibility of the Platform itself, and (c) how BookR may respond to conduct inconsistent with this Policy.
2. SCOPE
This Policy applies to all Users, and to all conduct occurring through or in connection with the Platform, including:
(a) creating, describing, pricing, and managing Listings; (b) accepting, declining, modifying, or cancelling Bookings; (c) communications between Users through Platform messaging; (d) reviews and ratings; and (e) conduct occurring at pickup, during the Rental Period, and at return of an Item.
3. NON-DISCRIMINATION BY OWNERS
Owners decide whether to accept a Booking request. That decision may not be made on the basis of a Renter's actual or perceived protected characteristic as described in §5.
Without limitation, an Owner shall not:
(a) decline, cancel, or refuse to fulfill a Booking because of a protected characteristic; (b) apply different rental rates, availability, Rental Periods, charges, conditions, or rules to a Renter because of a protected characteristic; (c) state or imply in a Listing, message, or profile any preference, limitation, or exclusion based on a protected characteristic; (d) discourage a Renter from requesting a Booking because of a protected characteristic; or (e) refuse to make a reasonable accommodation in the rental process for a Renter with a disability where such accommodation is required by Applicable Law and does not fundamentally alter the Item or the rental.
4. NON-DISCRIMINATION BY RENTERS
Renters shall not treat an Owner differently, refuse to complete a Booking, direct abusive or demeaning language toward an Owner, or submit a review or rating influenced by, an Owner's actual or perceived protected characteristic as described in §5.
Terms of Service §8.5 separately prohibits harassment, threats, intimidation, discrimination, and hate speech directed toward Users, BookR personnel, service providers, or third parties.
5. PROTECTED CHARACTERISTICS
For purposes of this Policy, "protected characteristic" includes the following, whether actual or perceived, and whether attributed to the User or to a person associated with the User:
(a) race, color, and traits historically associated with race, including hair texture and protective hairstyles; (b) religion; (c) national origin and ancestry; (d) sex, including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions; (e) sexual orientation and gender identity or expression; (f) disability, whether physical or mental; (g) age, as protected under Applicable Law; (h) marital status and familial status, including the presence of children in a household; (i) military status, unfavorable military discharge, and veteran status; (j) order of protection status; (k) reproductive health decisions; and (l) any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.
This list is illustrative of BookR's expectations and is not a statement of which statutes apply to any particular Transaction. BookR applies this list uniformly across all Users regardless of state — see §15 for the state civil-rights statutes this list is informed by. Where Applicable Law protects a characteristic not listed above, Applicable Law governs.
6. DISTINCTIONS THAT ARE NOT DISCRIMINATION
Nothing in this Policy prohibits an Owner from declining or conditioning a Booking for reasons unrelated to a protected characteristic, including:
(a) Item availability or scheduling conflicts; (b) a Renter's stated intended use of the Item; (c) a Renter's unwillingness to agree to reasonable, uniformly applied rental terms; (d) a legal requirement that the Renter hold a license, permit, certification, or minimum age applicable to the Item; (e) a Renter's prior conduct on the Platform; or (f) any other lawful, non-discriminatory business reason applied consistently across Renters.
The eligibility requirements in Terms of Service §4.1, including the requirement that a User be at least eighteen (18) years of age, are conditions of access to the Platform and are not prohibited by this Policy.
7. ACCESSIBILITY OF THE PLATFORM
BookR intends the Platform to be usable by people with a broad range of abilities, and seeks to improve accessibility as the Platform develops.
BookR's current commitments are:
(a) to consider accessibility when designing and building Platform features; (b) to work toward conformance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Level AA [proposed default, not a Colorado or Illinois legal requirement — see the drafting note above; to be confirmed by counsel before publication] as a design reference; (c) to respond to accessibility feedback received at the address in §13 and to consider reasonable requests for an alternative means of completing a task on the Platform; and (d) to review this Policy as the Platform changes.
BookR does not represent that the Platform currently conforms to any accessibility standard, and no independent accessibility audit or conformance testing has been performed. BookR will update this section if and when that changes. Users who encounter a barrier are encouraged to contact BookR using the information in §13.
8. ACCESSIBILITY OF ITEMS AND LISTINGS
BookR does not own, inspect, or control any Item, and makes no representation regarding whether any Item is suitable for, or usable by, a person with a particular disability. See Terms of Service §2.1 and §11.4.
Owners are encouraged to describe accurately in a Listing any feature, weight, size, physical requirement, or limitation that a prospective Renter would reasonably consider material, consistent with the accuracy obligations in Terms of Service §5.3.
Renters are solely responsible for evaluating whether an Item is suitable for their intended use before entering into a Transaction.
9. REPORTING
BookR does not currently offer an in-Platform mechanism for reporting a violation of this Policy. Until such a mechanism is available, conduct believed to violate this Policy may be reported to BookR using the contact information in §13.
Reports should identify, where possible, the Listing, Booking, or User involved, the date of the conduct, and any communications or other information relevant to the report.
BookR reserves the right to investigate any report, and may decline to investigate any report, in its sole and reasonable discretion. Submission of a report does not obligate BookR to take any particular action or to communicate an outcome.
10. ENFORCEMENT
Where BookR reasonably determines that a User has acted inconsistently with this Policy, BookR may take any action described in the Community Standards and Prohibited Items Policy (07-community-standards-and-prohibited-items-policy.md) §6 and Terms of Service §8.11, including:
(a) removing or restricting a Listing; (b) removing Content; (c) cancelling a Transaction; (d) suspending or terminating an Account; or (e) taking any other action reasonably necessary to protect Users or the Platform.
Enforcement mechanics, including the actions available to BookR and the absence of any obligation to provide advance notice, are set out in those documents rather than repeated here.
BookR does not review Listings before they are published, does not monitor communications between Users for compliance with this Policy, and assumes no obligation to detect conduct inconsistent with it. The exercise or non-exercise of any right described in this Section shall not create any duty or obligation owed by BookR to any User.
11. NO WAIVER OF LEGAL RIGHTS
Nothing in this Policy limits any right or remedy a User may have under Applicable Law, or creates any right or remedy that Applicable Law does not otherwise provide.
12. CHANGES TO THIS POLICY
BookR reserves the right to modify, amend, supplement, or replace this Policy at any time.
Material changes may be communicated through the Platform, email, or other reasonable means where required by Applicable Law.
13. CONTACT INFORMATION
Questions, accessibility feedback, and reports under this Policy may be directed to:
BookrApp, LLC 1120 Moraine Drive, Woodstock, IL 60098 jacksonlyons@bookr-app.com jacksonlyons@bookr-app.com
14. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER POLICIES
This Policy should be read together with:
(a) BookR Terms of Service, in particular §4.1, §8.5, and §8.11; (b) BookR Community Standards and Prohibited Items Policy; (c) BookR Privacy Policy; and (d) any other policies incorporated into the Platform.
In the event of a conflict between this Policy and the Terms of Service, the Terms of Service shall govern.
15. STATE TERMS
This section states rules that apply only to residents of a specific state. Each subsection below names the clause it modifies. Where no subsection exists for your state, no state-specific modification applies to you, and the rest of this Policy governs in full.
15.1 State Terms — Illinois.
This subsection modifies §5.
§5's protected-characteristic list is informed in part by the Illinois Human Rights Act (775 ILCS 5/) and the public-accommodation guidance of the Illinois Department of Human Rights. §5's list is broader than what the Illinois Human Rights Act independently requires.
15.2 State Terms — Colorado.
This subsection modifies §5.
§5's protected-characteristic list is informed in part by the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (C.R.S. Title 24, Article 34, Part 6). CADA's own statutory list is narrower than §5 on several characteristics and phrases gender-related coverage differently; §5's list already reflects every characteristic CADA protects, applied uniformly to all Users regardless of state. Whether an online-only marketplace like BookR is a "place of public accommodation" under Colorado law at all has not been confirmed — no on-point Colorado case law was found either way; this remains open for counsel.
15.3 Other States.
BookR does not currently have State Terms for any state other than the two above. Where Applicable Law protects a characteristic not listed in §5, Applicable Law governs regardless of whether a State Terms subsection exists for that state.