AODA Accessibility Standards

Compliance

The purpose of Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and accompanying standards is to achieve accessibility for people with disabilities in Ontario by 2025, beginning January 1, 2012 for the private sector.

The goal is to identify and remove barriers within the government and organizations in the province of Ontario that keep people with disabilities from fully participating in activities such as employment, shopping, going to restaurants, accessing services and goods, applying for government and other services on the Internet etc.

What is the AODA?

The AODA includes every person in the public and private sector and provides standards and enforcement procedures.

Under the AODA the government has been developing mandatory accessibility standards to identify, remove and prevent barriers for persons with disabilities in key areas of daily living.

These Accessibility Standards are meant to aid organizations to achieve accessibility for the largest number of people with disabilities.

Organizations must make difficult decisions, because clearly they cannot accommodate every type of disability in the same way.

Accessibility means organizations will need to provide alternative delivery methods so that everyone can participate in society. When we think about accessibility, personalizing the issue can help us understand and act.

The AODA requires the persons or organizations named or described in the standard to implement those measures, policies, practices or other requirements within the time periods specified in the standard.

The definition of disability is very broad and is the same definition used in the Ontario Human Rights Code. This definition applies to all the standards under the AODA.

It is any degree of physical, mental, learning

and/or developmental disability.

For example, birth defect, amputation, blindness, deafness, dyslexia.

What is a disability?

A “barrier” means anything that prevents a person with a disability from fully participating in all aspects of society because of his or her disability, including a physical barrier, an architectural barrier, an information or communications barrier, an attitudinal barrier, a technological barrier, a policy or a practice.

What is a barrier?

The government has created five standards.

The customer service standard addresses business practices and training needed to provide better customer service to people with disabilities. This is the first standard to become a regulation. It came into effect January 1, 2008. The public sector had to comply with this standard by January 1, 2010 and the private sector by January 1, 2012.

What are the accessibility standards?

The Integrated Accessibility Regulation created three standards which came into effect July 1, 2011. The standards under the integrated regulation will be phased in between January 1, 2012, and January 1, 2025 and they are:

• The information and communications standard addresses the removal of barriers in access to information and communications

• The employment standard addresses paid employment practices relating to employee-employer relationships, which may include recruitment, hiring, retention policies and practices

• The transportation standard addresses access to public transportation that is needed for aspects of daily living

Two specific requirements under the Integrated Accessibility Regulation must be met by January 1, 2012.

1. If your organization prepares emergency or safety plans available to the public, these must also be available in an accessible format

2. Every obligated employer must provide individualized workplace emergency response plan to employees who have a disability. The employer must be aware of the disability and accommodate accordingly

The built environment standard addresses access into and within buildings and outdoor spaces.

The standard for built environment consist of the policies, practices or other requirements for the identification and removal of barriers with respect to the built environment for persons with a range of disabilities (focused on built public open spaces, streetscape elements and building elements in a range of occupancies).

The standard will only apply to new construction and extensive renovation.

Final accessibility standards for built environment have not yet been brought forward in a regulation. The standard is expected sometime in 2012.

The first AODA standard, the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service outlines the actions businesses and other organizations in Ontario must take to make their goods and services more accessible to people with disabilities.

The standard does not set accessibility requirements for the goods themselves, but rather the way that they are provided to customers. In other words, it is the method by which you provide goods or services to the public or other third parties that must comply with the customer service standard.

Customer service standard

Every person or organization that provides goods and services to members of the public or other third parties, and has at least one employee in Ontario, must have complied by January 1, 2012.

According to ministry guidelines, all full-time, part-time, seasonal and contract employees, regardless of status, must be counted when determining the number of employees an organization has. Volunteers and independent contractors must not be included in the count.

“Other third parties” in this instance means any other persons or organizations other than the general public with whom you do business. They can include consultants, manufacturers, wholesalers, suppliers of professional services, vendors, postman, delivery man or government agencies.

The customer service standard requires that you provide the same level of service to third parties as to the general public.

1. Establish policies, practices and procedures that promote access to your goods & services. Ensure that your policies, practices and procedures are consistent with the core principles of independence, dignity, integration and equality of opportunity

2. Set a policy on the use of assistive devices. Identify and include any other measures (assistive devices) you may offer to enable accessibility (e.g., wheelchairs, scooters, hearing aids, crutches, canes, screen readers, TTY etc.)

What are the CSS requirements?

3. Communicate to a person with a disability in a manner that takes into account the person’s disability

4. Allow persons with disabilities to enter your organization’s premises with a service animal

5. Allow persons with disabilities to enter your organization’s premises with a support person

6. Where admission fees are charged, provide notice ahead of time on what admission, if any, would be charged for a support person of a person with a disability.

7. Implement training for everyone in your workplace who deals with the public or other third parties on behalf of your organization

8. Implement a process and documented plan to provide notice of any temporary disruption

9. Establish a process for people to offer feedback on how you provide goods or services to people with disabilities, and how you will respond to any feedback and take action on any complaints. Make the information about your feedback process readily available to the public in alternative formats upon request.

10. Document and file annual accessibility reports with the government (if applicable)

Businesses with fewer than 20 employees do not need to prepare written documents based on the requirements found in the standard, or file annual accessibility reports with the government. Nonetheless, as of January 2012, organizations with fewer than 20 employees still have new responsibilities to perform, they are still obligated to comply with the law and they must make policies, practices and procedures. Although businesses do not need to document them, the best practice is to document accessibility policies, practices and procedures to avoid workplace confusions and legal complications.

The AODA is about understanding that people with disabilities may not be able to access your goods and services unless barriers are removed.

The AODA is about being willing to be proactive by anticipating those barriers and taking measures to reasonably remove those barriers. For the barriers that cannot be anticipated, the AODA allows you to be reactive once you have been made aware of these barriers and be willing to deal with them.

So what does this mean?

1. This means conducting a needs assessment.Assess your organization premises, processes, existing policies and procedures for real or possible barriers, for example assess,◦ How your customer access your goods and services?◦ How you and your employees interact with your

customer?◦ What type of customers you deal with?◦ What barriers are there?◦ What you can do to remove these barriers?◦ Emergency plans or public safety information in

place?

Steps to achieve compliance

2. Develop you customer service accessibility plan, policies, procedures and practicesPolicies are what you intend to do, including any instructions and rules for employees. Practices are what you and your employees really do on a daily basis. Procedures whether informal or written, are how you and employees will interact with customers with disabilities and provide your goods or services.

Your employees must follow the policies, practices and procedures on a daily basis.

3. Train Implement training for everyone in your workplace who deals with the public or other third parties on behalf of your organization. This includes employees, contractors, volunteers and agents, and those participating in developing your organization’s policies, practices and procedures governing the provision of goods or services to the public or other third parties.

Regardless of format, the training must cover the following:

• Review of the purposes of the AODA and requirements of the customer service standard

• Instruction on how to interact and communicate with people with various types of disabilities

• Instruction on how to interact with people with disabilities who use assistive devices or require the assistance of a service animal or a support person

• Instruction on how to use equipment or devices available at your premises or that you provide otherwise, that may help people with disabilities access your services, such as teletypewriter (TTY) telephones, elevators, lifts, accessible interactive kiosks or other technology

• Instruction on what to do if a person with a disability is having difficulty accessing your services

4. Monitor, review and improve Communicate your standard for customer

service to your employees and customers• Ensure your employees are applying your

policies, practices and procedures everyday• Obtain feedback from customers with

disabilities that your policies, practices and procedures are working

• Based on feedback, review, improve and adjust your policies, practices and procedures

• Communicate and train your employees on revised policies, practices and procedures

Having a process to communicate by email or internet form or fax if the customer cannot communicate by telephone.

Providing employees with pen and paper so that they can communicate in writing with customers when verbal communication is not possible.

Installing a door bell so that people in wheelchair can ring to have the door open for them.

make existing documents, forms or other digital content accessible in large print or Braille

Examples of compliance

If your organization or business does not have the required policies and procedures in place by the deadline, you may face fines:

• For individuals and unincorporated entities, up to $50,000 for each and every day or part day that the legislated requirements have not been met

• For a corporation, up to $100,000 for each and every day or part day that the legislative requirements have not been met

What if I do not comply?

• Individual directors and officers of corporations have a duty to take all reasonable care to prevent the corporation from committing an offence; they can face fines of up to $50,000 for each and every day or part day that there is non compliance

The AODA allows for enforcement through inspections, compliance orders and administrative penalties.

There is also a potential for a human rights claim.

The License Appeal Tribunal has been designated to hear appeals of director’s orders under the AODA including orders for penalties issued against a person or organization

The standard for information and communications outlines how organizations may be required to create, provide and receive information and communications in ways that are accessible for people with disabilities. The main goal of the standard is to promote inclusive design of information and communication platforms and to specify requirements to prevent and remove barriers to persons with disabilities when creating, conveying, distributing, procuring and receiving information and communication to and from your organization. Making your communication practices more accessible will require a bit of work. You will need to think about how you communicate and engage with people with a disability.

What comes after?

Obligated organizations must meet the above requirements in accordance with the following schedule:

• For the Government of Ontario and the Legislative Assembly, January 1, 2014

• For large designated public sector organizations, January 1, 2015

• For small designated public sector organizations, January 1, 2016

• For large private sector organizations (50 or more employees), January 1, 2016

• For small private sector organizations (at least one but fewer than 50 employees), January 1, 2017

The standard for employment includes specific requirements for the recruitment, retention and accommodation of persons with disabilities. This standard applies to all organizations in Ontario that have at least one paid employee. This includes private businesses, non-profit organizations, provincial and municipal governments, universities, colleges, hospitals and school boards.

Generally speaking, to meet their obligations under the law, employers have to develop an organizational accessible employment policy statement.

Obligated organizations that are employers, must meet the following requirements under the AODA employment standard:

For the Government of Ontario and the Legislative Assembly, January 1, 2013

◦ For large designated public sector organizations, January 1, 2014

◦ For small designated public sector organizations, January 1, 2015

◦ For large organizations (50 or more employees), January 1, 2016

◦ For small organizations (at least one but fewer than 50 employees), January 1, 2017

The employment standard consists of several specific parts:

• Workplace emergency response information• Recruitment, selection, hiring process and employment cycle• Return-to-work process

• Performance management• Career development and advancement• Redeployment• Accessible formats and communication supports for

employees

All of the above parts to the employment standard must meet the documented individual accommodation plans, except when an employer is exempt.

The standard for transportation is a sector-specific standard that relates specifically to modes of transportation that come under the jurisdiction of provincial and municipal governments. This standard focuses on making transportation services accessible. This includes buses (including public school buses), trains, subways, streetcars, taxis and ferries.

This standard requires transportation services to prevent and remove barriers so that people with disabilities can more easily access transportation services across the province. Requirements for accessible transportation apply to persons and/or organizations that offer transportation services to the public or employees, and that are responsible for or provide the following types of services:

◦ Conventional transportation◦ Specialized transportation◦ Public school transportation◦ Other transportation services◦ Ferry◦ Taxi

Conventional transportation service providers and specialized transportation service providers must start meeting the requirements of the transportation standards beginning July 1, 2011. Certain requirements have various other effective dates depending on the requirement and/or type of transportation covered under the standard.

The standard is extensive and sets out detailed transportation-specific operational practices and procedures that address various topics. Note that under each transportation-specific operational practice and procedure listed, written policies will be required to include how services and/or equipment and other will be provided in an accessible manner.

In addition, the integrated accessibility standards also provide guidance on how you can ensure your people interact in a positive manner with persons with all types of disabilities under all three standards: information and communications, employment and transportation.

Part one of the integrated regulations has common requirements obligated organizations must meet under all three standards. The regulations require that all of the factors under discussion are addressed through policies and multi-year plans. There are five steps in the general section of the standard:

1. Establish accessibility policies

2. Establish accessibility plans

3. Purchasing or acquiring goods, services or facilities

4. Self service kiosks

5. Training