Is this really a WCAG defect: All <th> elements and elements with role=columnheader/rowheader must have data cells they describe

Could you please clarify how the table used in the example on this page: https://dequeuniversity.com/rules/axe/3.0/th-has-data-cells is in violation of WCAG? The table is constructed properly - every <th> has a column of corresponding <td>s. How does having empty data cells in the last column make this table a failure of WCAG? And, at a Serious level as my testing indicates that the table is accessibility supported across many platforms. There are certainly many legitimate use cases for having a table that has a column of empty data cells. Thank you!

[WilcoFiers]

Hey Melanie. Thanks for the report. I think you are entirely correct. I would suggest that we make the following changes:

1. Allow headers associated with empty cells - while still flagging empty with no associated cells
2. Flag headers in tables without data cells as “needs review”, since the table could simply not be populated

What do you think?

[chandana7393]

Tested, working as expected. Tested Environment: Attest - 2.5.1.19317v Axe - 3.8.1.19317v Axe-coconut - 3.8.1.19604v Chrome - 75v Firefox - 68v OS - Windows 10 64 bit.