Since its inception in 2005, the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) (“The Act”) has been maintaining standards and timelines associated with identifying and removing barriers for people with disabilities in 5 areas of daily life. The ultimate goal of the Act is to achieve a more accessible and inclusive province by January 1, 2025. The Act applies to every person and organization in the public and private sectors of Ontario. By now, every Ontarian should have received AODA training, and be familiar with applicable AODA policies and plans at minimum.

Businesses and non-profit organizations with 20 or more employees are required to complete accessibility compliance reports every three years. Designated public sector organizations are required to complete accessibility compliance reports every two years. The upcoming reporting deadline for businesses and non-profit organizations, as well as public sector organizations is December 31, 2023.

The reporting requirement facilitates an opportunity for organizations to self-assess compliance with accessibility plans and standards, depending on number of employees and business category.

The following is a non-exclusive list of compliance sections you can expect to report on by the end of the year.

Policy

Organizations with fewer than 50 employees must have an accessibility policy/policies that include a statement of commitment and outlines rules for achieving accessibility goals. Accessibility policies should be consistent with your business vision and goals, while removing barriers and addressing needs.  Organizations with 50 or more employees are also required to have an accessibility policy, and it must be made available to the public. Accessibility policies should be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure evolving standards and requirements are continually met.

Plan(s)

Organizations with 50 employees or more are also required to have an accessibility plan. The accessibility plan acts as a roadmap, outlining steps your organization will take to prevent and remove accessibility barriers and thus ensuring AODA compliance overall in the upcoming years. Your accessibility plan must be updated at least once every 5 years and must be accessible to the public via your company’s website.

Training

All employees; regardless of employment status and/or position, must receive accessibility training.  Training must consist of the accessibility customer service standard, work related accessibility topics that relate directly with employees’ responsibilities, the Ontario Human Rights Code as it pertains to people with disabilities, and your business accessibility policy. There are free resources for training available and all training records must be maintained.

As we move into the second half of the year, now is a great time to take a closer look at your organization’s AODA compliance and complete your accessibility compliance report before the December 31, 2023 deadline. All compliance reports are subject to random audit, and failure to submit a compliance report may result in financial penalties.

To find out more about the wide variety of services RLB People can provide you with contact the team at people@rlb.ca or visit their website at people.rlb.ca.