Critical Information Your Small Business Needs to Know to Comply with Accessibility of Ontarians Disability Act

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WHAT YOUR SMALL BUSINESS OF LESS THAN 50 PEOPLE NEEDS TO KNOW TO COMPLY WITH ACCESSIBILITY OF

ONTARIANS DISABILITY ACTPRESENTED TO CLINTON CENTRAL HURON BIA

BY SANDRA THOMPSON, ACCESSIBILITY COORDINATOR COUNTY OF HURON

January 2, 2014

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Objectives

Accessibility of Ontarians Disability Act

Provide Overview of the Integrated Accessibility Regulation

General Regulations/Human Rights Information & Communication Employment Transportation Built Environment

Outdoor Spaces Building Code

Summary of Standards Your Should Already Be In Compliance With

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Objectives Continued

Future Standards To Be In Compliance With By Year

AODA Wizard Tool

Questions

Thank You

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Integrated Accessibility Regulation

Under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), 2005 Integrated Accessibility Standard Regulation (IASR), small Private Sector organizations (1-49 employees) and large Private Sector organizations (more than 50 employees) are required to meet a number of provisions with respect to ensuring the accessibility for people with disabilities in the areas of:

customer service information and communication, employment, transportation and built environment.

These provisions must be implemented between 2012 and 2025

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Integrated Accessibility Regulation Under the IASR, required actions

include: Develop a statement outlining the Private Sector

Organization’s commitment to meeting the accessibility needs of persons with disabilities in a timely manner.

Integrate accessibility in procurement processes.

Train employees, volunteers, and relevant third parties.

Provide accessible formats and communication supports, including emergency plans and public safety information and when seeking citizen feedback, upon request.

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Integrated Accessibility Regulation

Ensure website accessibility.

Establish accessible employment processes throughout the employment cycle, including recruitment, selection, individual accommodation plans, workplace emergency information, return to work process, performance management, career development, and redeployment.

Meet accessibility requirements when constructing new or redeveloped elements of public spaces (more details to follow).

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General Requirements & Human Rights

General requirements, including: accessibility criteria in procurement and acquisition processes, policies describing how the provisions of the standards will be met, development of a 5-year accessibility plan, outlining the process

for meeting the IASR, and training for all staff, volunteers, and relevant third parties.

Human Rights Broadly, the IASR requires organizations to document policies,

processes, and plans for various provisions, to train all employees, volunteers, and relevant third parties in the IASR requirements and the Human Rights Code as it relates to people with disabilities, and to develop or acquire various resources or equipment to support compliance.

Information & Communication

Information and communication includes accessibility standards for:

websites, accessible formats of

documents and communications to the public,

accessible feedback processes,

providing accessible emergency and public safety information, and

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Employment

Employment includes providing:

accommodation throughout the recruitment process,

providing accessible formats of information and communications to employees,

documenting accommodation plans for employees with disabilities, and

accommodating employees during return-to-work, redeployment, and career development.

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Built Environment

Public Outdoor Spaces

Beginning in 2015, public and private sector organizations will have to meet accessibility requirements when constructing and maintaining new or redeveloped elements of public spaces including:

Recreational trails and beach access routesOutdoor eating areas for public useOutdoor play spaces (such as playgrounds)Exterior paths of travel (such as walkways

across parks or between buildings)Accessible on- and off-street parkingService counters and waiting areas

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Building Code

Accessibility Standards for the interior of public buildings have been implemented in the Ontario Building Code.

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Compliance Date January, 2012

Customer Service Standard

The customer service standard is the first standard developed under the AODA.

It became law effective January 1, 2008.

Small private organizations had to be in compliance by January 1, 2012.

To be in compliance your organization must create a Customer Service & Use of Assistive Devices that is shared with all staff.

All staff must receive customer service training.

http://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/en/mcss/programs/accessibility/customerService/

Does your organization shine above the rest?





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Compliance Date January, 2012 Integrated Accessibility Regulation

Making Emergency Information Accessible to the Public As of January 1, 2012, upon request, the County must make

their emergency and public safety information accessible to people with disabilities.

They must also work with the person requesting the information to figure out how to meet their needs, as soon as possible.

You don’t have to have accessible formats on hand and you don’t have to create new emergency or public safety information. Real-time emergency information (such as announcements and alarms) isn’t included in the standard. Just make any existing information that is available to the public accessible, upon request.

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Workplace Emergency Response Information

As of January 1, 2013, any known employees with a disability that might need help in an emergency situation are to be provided with an Individual Emergency Plan form and the Emergency Workplace Response Information For Employees With Disabilities policy.

I can provide you with the County’s policy and form for individual emergency plans.

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Accessibility Policies As of January 1, 2015, small private organizations must

develop, implement and maintain policies about what the organization will do to meet the IASR requirements and become more accessible including a statement of commitment.

The policy must be made available to the public.

The policy statement in the Standards for Accessibility Policy will outline your organization’s commitment to providing services to members of the public in an accessible manner, emphasizing the principles of independence, dignity, integration, and equal opportunity, as required by the IASR and the Customer Service Regulation.

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Compliance Date January, 2015

Integrated Accessibility Regulation Procurement Policies

When you procure goods, services and facilities, you consider criteria to make your decision, such as quality, cost and timing. Now you need to make accessibility design and features part of your criteria, where possible.

Huron County Council approved new finance policies in order to meet Accessibility Obligations in Procurement at its November 28, 2012 Council.

Please let me know if you would like a copy of these policies.

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Compliance Deadline January, 2016

Training: Training must be provided on the IASR

requirements that apply to your business and what is mandated under the Ontario Human Rights Code (related to disabilities).

Small businesses must provide training to all employees and volunteers, including paid and unpaid positions. This also includes anyone who is involved in developing your business’s policies and anyone who provides goods, services or facilities on your behalf, such as facilities management.

http://www.accessforward.ca/trainingResources/index

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Feedback When asked, you must be able to receive and respond to feedback from

your customers, your employees and members of the public who have a disability.

Making feedback accessible may mean that instead of providing only one method for feedback, such as hand-written letters, your organization needs to be ready to receive feedback in other ways, such as over the telephone or by email.

Organizations that provide customers with questionnaires or comment cards must also provide this information in accessible formats or with communication supports.

Examples of accessible formats and communication supports are:•giving an employee with low vision information in large print, and•exchanging hand-written notes to communicate with a customer who is Deaf.

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Integrated Accessibility Regulation Employment Policies:

The following policies must be in place by January, 2017:

Hiring and Selection Process Advertising & Posting Process Regular Performance Review Workplace Accommodation Early Return to Work Program

If you would like I can share the County of Huron’s policies.

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Your organization must let your staff know about the organization’s policies for supporting employees with disabilities. Your business has the flexibility to do this in a way that best suits your culture and business practices, such as by using:

Newsletters Emails Memos Website Bulletin Boards Staff Meetings, and One-on-one conversations.

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Making Information Accessible to Employees When an employee with a disability ask for it,

you must work with them to make workplace information accessible.

Workplace information is information that employees need to perform their jobs, and general information available to all employees at work.

Example, Suzy is legally blind and uses a screen reader to read text. Her employer send her the monthly staff newsletter in a structured word file so she can read it.

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Parking No, you do not have to change your

organization’s parking to comply with the law. The standard only applies when you plan to build new or make major changes to your existing parking spaces.

The requirements you need to follow when building new or redeveloping existing parking spaces depend on the type of parking your organization owns and/or maintains. There are two types of parking: off-street and on-street.

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Off-street parking is a space where you can park your vehicle temporarily that is not on a public road or street. ff-street parking includes open and covered parking lots, such as a hair salon’s customer parking lot and an underground parking garage at a shopping centre.

Public, private and non-profit organizations own and maintain off-street parking. People may need to pay to use off-street parking.

On-street parking is a space where you can park your vehicle temporarily that is located on a common and public highway or street and is the responsibility of municipalities.

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What are the requirements? New and redeveloped o-street parking must follow certain technical �

requirements. For example:

1. Off-street parking facilities must include two types of accessible parking spaces: a. wider spaces for people who use mobility aids, such as

wheelchairs, and b. standard-width spaces for people who use mobility assistive

devices, such as canes, crutches and walkers. 2. Off-street parking facilities must include a minimum number of

each type of accessible parking space, depending on the total number of parking spaces.

3. Accessible parking spaces must have access aisles (a space between

parking spaces) that allow people with disabilities to get in and out of their vehicles.

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Accessible Counters, Entrances, Path of Travel, Door Widths, etc.

Everything based on the Built Environment must be in compliance by January, 2018 if renovations are completed.

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Compliance Deadline January, 2014Businesses with 50+ Employees Making Your Website

Accessible

websites and their content must meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0.

This includes features such as screen readers for those with vision loss

Large print Literacy levels

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Quick Facts

Although you do not have to make your building accessible unless you do renovations it only makes good business sense to do so anyway. Canadians with disabilities spend $25 billion every

year and influence the spending decisions of 12 to 15 million other consumers.

More than 1.85 million Ontarians have a disability and this number is quickly rising as the population ages.

By 2017, for the first time, Ontarians aged 65 and over will account for a larger share of the population than children aged 0-14.

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AODA Wizards

Here is the link to the Wizard.

Very helpful tool.

https://www.appacats.mcss.gov.on.ca/eadvisor/start.action

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Questions

Critical Information Your Small Business Needs to Know to Comply with Accessibility of Ontarians Disability Act

Business

accessibility standards

website accessibility

accessibility criteria

accessible emergency

customer service information

year accessibility plan

public outdoor spaces

buildings accessible