AODA Integrated Accessibility
Standards
Overview of the Regulation
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Facilitated by:
Melissa Magder – Director of Diversity,
HR and Cross Cultural Training
Tel: 647-727-5652
Email: mmagder@prolearningonline.com
www.prolearningonline.com
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Who Are We:
• Full Service HR Organization with a focus on:
▫ HR
▫ Diversity and Inclusion
▫ AODA
• Assisted hundreds of organizations across the province with
Customer Service Standard compliance and employee training
• Offer Classroom, eLearning and Blended Learning Solutions
• Strategic Learning Alliance with the Human Resources
Professionals Association
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Background
• AODA released in 2005
• Objective: To remove all barriers to persons with disabilities in
Ontario
• Comprised of 5 standards:
1) Customer Service Standard
*compliance required Jan 1, 2012
2) Information and Communications
3) Employment
4) Transportation
5) Built Environment Standard
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Customer Service Standard
• Understanding that persons with disabilities may have
different needs. Making changes to how we serve persons
with disabilities
• Private sector compliance required Jan. 1, 2012
• Public sector compliance required Jan. 1, 2010
• Applies to organizations with 1+ employees in Ontario and
that provide goods or services directly to the public or to
other organizations in Ontario
• Small organization: 1-19; Large organization: 20+
• Requirements: create plan, train staff, document, reporting
• Reporting date – Dec 31, 2012
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Customer Service Standard Plan
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Statement of committment
Assistive devices
Communication
Service animals
Support persons
Notice of temporary disruption
Training
Feedback process
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Integrated Accessibility Standards
• Became law July 1, 2011
• Combines 3 Standards
▫ Information and Communications
▫ Employment
▫ Transportation
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Phased compliance across public and private sectors
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Small organization: 1-49 Large organization: 50+
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Compliance Provisions
• Governed by Accessibility Directorate of Ontario
• All organizations are subject to government audits and
inspections
• Fines for non-compliance are in the thousands of dollars
• Fines for offences are up to $100,000 per day
• License Appeal Tribunal (for organizations)
• Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (for individuals)
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General Requirements
• Statement of Commitment
Jan 1, 2014 large organizations
• Accessibility policies (for all)
Jan 1, 2014 large organizations
Jan 1, 2015 small organizations (not written)
• Multi-year accessibility plan
Jan 1, 2014 large organizations
• Training (for all)
Jan 1, 2015 large organizations
Jan 1, 2016 small organizations
• Reporting
large organizations, schedule every 2-3 years
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Multi-Year Accessibility Plans
• Outlines organizational strategies to prevent and remove
barriers to accessibility (present and future)
• A schedule of short and long-term objectives and the specific
month/year in which your organization will meet these goals
• Specific to your organization (not one size fits-all)
• Must be posted on your website
• Reviewed and updated every 5 years
* Large organizations
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Components of an Accessibility Plan
• Statement of objectives
• The process by which your organization will identify, remove
and prevent barriers
• A review of efforts made to date to remove and prevent
barriers
• Describe the measures (policies, procedures and practices)
your organization will take to identify, remove and prevent
barriers
• Describe how your organization will make the accessibility
plan available to the public
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Strategies to Prevent Barriers
Ways to identify current and potential barriers
include:
• Audits
• Affinity Groups
• Focus Groups
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Training
Requirements:
ALL staff require ‘general’ training on IAS requirements and Ontario
Human Rights Code
ALL staff include:
• Full and Part-time employees, volunteers, including those who
do not have contact with customers/public
• Anyone involved in policy development; includes Board
Members
• Any persons who provide services on behalf of the organization
(representatives, agents, etc.)
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Training
Requirements:
• Appropriate to job duties
- look at function of the job
Example: front line vs. facilities/maintenance
- scope of responsibility and accountability
Employee – Supervisor – Manager – Director – Board Member
• Must be tracked and documented (large organizations)
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Other General Requirements
• Procuring or Acquiring Goods, Services or Facilities
- All private sector organizations are
advised to consider accessibility
• Self-service Kiosks
- Organizations must make accessible
Jan 1, 2014 – large organizations
Jan 1, 2015 – small organizations
*Must consider accessibility features
to meet customer needs
prior to compliance deadline
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Information and Communications Standard
Scope:
• Focus on accessible information & communication
relating to the provision of goods and services
• Make more accessible the ways that information &
communication is sent and received
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Accessible Formats and Communication Supports
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Electronic formats i.e. HTML, MS Word
Braille
Audio formats
Large print
Text transcripts
Reading information aloud
Jan 1, 2016 – large organizations
Captioning
Jan 1, 2017 – small organizations
Assistive listening systems
Sign language
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Information and Communications Standard
Websites: http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/
NEW Internet and Intranet Websites and Web Content
Jan 1, 2014 – large organizations
ALL Internet Websites and Web Content
Jan 1, 2021 – large organizations
Examples :
• Optimized for screen readers
• Text in place of images
• Descriptions of images
• High contrast and colour schemes
• Ability to enlarge text
• Line and letter spacing for maximum readability
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Employment Standards
Scope:
• Prescribe how organizations are to provide accessibility
for employees and job applicants
• Does not apply to unpaid employment
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Employment Standard
Workplace Emergency Response Information
*Jan 1, 2012 – immediate for all organizations
• Individualized plan
• Inform appropriate parties
• Must be tracked and documented (large organizations only)
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Employment Standards
• Recruitment, assessment, selection and hiring
• Accommodation supports for employees and job applicants
- accessible formats and communications
- individual accommodation plan
• Return-to-work process (large organizations only)
• Performance Management, Career Development &
Redeployment
Jan 1, 2016 – large organizations
Jan 1, 2017 – small organizations
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Examples of Accommodation
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Flexible scheduling and reduced or part-time hours
Quiet workspace
Providing a personal day
Alternate communication methods (telephone, digital
recorder, verbal or written instructions)
• Communication aids (i.e. head phones)
• Voice input or speech recognition aids
• Computer screen magnifiers
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Concerns about putting this into practice:
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Some managers realize it is the right thing to do
Others are not supportive and don’t want to address it
Not sure how to manage a staff member with a disability
May have had a negative experience with working with a
person with a disability
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Transportation
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Applies to:
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Transit buses
Motor coaches
Streetcars
Subways
Rail based transportation
School boards, universities & colleges, hospitals
Ferry
Taxis
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Built Environment Standards /
Ontario Building Code
• Ontario Building Code (OBC)
requirements apply by size
• Built Environment Standard (BES) will not be limited by
size
• Additional areas covered under BES
• BES requirements will exceed and take precedence over
OBC requirements
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Built Environment Standards
• Not a law – yet…
• Will not be retroactive
• Some changes will be required to comply with Customer
Services Standards
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Conclusion
• Accessibility law in Ontario is a reality
• Organizations are advised to take a proactive approach to complying – makes
good business sense AND it’s the law
• Full-day IAS workshops coming this
Fall/Winter
• IAS online and classroom training
programs available through proLearning
innovations to meet your training needs
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Q&A