THE EMPLOYERS' EDGE
AODA Integrated Accessibility Standard
Practice Areas:
Human Rights
The Integrated Accessibility Standard under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (“AODA”) was recently released, and comes into force on July 1, 2011. This final Regulation combines accessibility standards in three main areas: employment, transportation and information and communication. This regulation will have a significant impact on almost all employers across Ontario. With respect to employment, the following sections impose new obligations on most employers:
22. Recruitment – Employers will be required to notify employees and the public about the availability of accommodation for applicants with disabilities in their recruitment policies;
23. Recruitment, Assessment or Selection Process – All employers will be required to notify job applicants when they are selected to participate further in the selection process that accommodation is available upon request. Where a selected applicant requests an accommodation, employers must then provide or arrange for “suitable” accommodation taking into account the applicant’s accessibility needs;
24. Notice to Successful Applicants: When making offers of employment, all employers will be required to advise the successful applicant of their policies for accommodating persons with disabilities;
25. Informing Employees of Supports: Employers will have to inform all of their employees of their policies used to support employees with disabilities, including information on accommodation that specifically accounts for accessibility needs. This information should be part of training and/or orientation for all new employees immediately upon commencing employment;
26. Accessible Formats and Communication Supports: Employers will be required, where requested by a disabled employee, to consult with the employee to provide or arrange to provide accessible formats and communication supports for information needed to perform his or her job;
27. Workplace Emergency Response Information: In circumstances where employers are aware that a disabled employee has a need for accommodation, and where the employee has a disability that would require individualized information, employers will be required to provide individualized workplace emergency response information to the disabled employee(s). This information needs to be reviewed if the employee is moved to another work location (e.g. this may impact pandemic policies, fire exit policies, and safety policies, given that an employer may have to consider how to accommodate a disabled person in the event of an emergency).
Employers must be in compliance with this standard by January 1, 2012;
28. Documented Individual Accommodation Plans: Employers will be required to develop a written process for the development of documented individual accommodation plans for disabled employees – this policy must address:
how the disabled employee can participate in the development of the plan;
the method by which the employee is assessed on an individual basis;
how the employer can request an evaluation by an outside medical or other expert, at the employer’s expense;
how the employee can request the participation of a representative of the bargaining agent, or representative from the workplace;
steps taken to protect the employee’s privacy;
frequency of review for the accommodation plan;
if the accommodation plan is denied, the manner in which those reasons will be provided to the employee; and
the way to provide the plan in a format that takes into account any accessibility needs due to disability.
29. Return to Work Process: Most employers will have to develop a documented return to work process for employees who have been absent from work due to a disability and require accommodation to return to the workplace. This process will include an outline of the steps the employer will take to facilitate the return to work and an individual documented accommodation plan; and,
30. Performance Management: Employers will have to take into account accessibility needs and individualized accommodation plans when engaging in these activities and (under section 31) for career development and advancement as well.
All employers will be required to provide training on the Human Rights Code as it pertains to persons with disabilities. This human rights training is to be provided in addition to the training on the requirements of the accessibility standards.
Other important points to keep in mind are:
- The time frame for compliance is different depending on the size of the employer and follows the following tentative implementation schedule:
January 1, 2014 – large designated public sector organizations;
January 1, 2015 – small designated public sector organizations;
January 1, 2015 – large private or not-for-profit sector organizations; and
January 1, 2016 – small private or not-for-profit sector organizations.
- For breaches of the requirements set out above, employees may file a complaint with the Accessibility Directorate under AODA. Significant fines can be imposed for a breach.
The Employment Accessibility requirements under the Integrated Regulation will formalize and bureaucratize accommodation, whereas in the past, employers had a degree of flexibility in determining how best to accommodate an employee.
The Employment Accessibility Standard does not replace or act as a substitute for the duty to accommodate under the Human Rights Code. It is meant to impose proactive measures employers must follow, whereas the Human Rights Code is reactive (employees file a complaint with the Human Rights Tribunal after an alleged breach).
CCP can assist employers in understanding and implementing these new legislative obligations and we will continue to keep you updated on implementation dates.
Please Note: This blog has been prepared as an informational service for our clients and other interested parties. It is not intended to constitute legal advice, a complete statement of the law or opinion on any subject. Although we endeavour to ensure the accuracy of the content, no one should act upon the information provided without a thorough examination of the law after the facts of a specific situation are fully considered.