In 2005, the Ontario government passed the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act ("AODA"). The stated goal was to remove barriers to accessibility by 2025 by gradually introducing new obligations. Since 2005, requirements have been introduced in phase. Over time, obligations have increased. Recently, the government introduced Regulation 191/11: Integrated Accessibility Standards, which came into force in July of this year. It introduces a number of changes that employers need to be aware of.

The changes apply to each and every organization in the province providing goods, services or facilities, regardless of the number of employees. All accessibility standards, including the Accessible Customer Service Standard, are now part of the new regulation known as the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation. The change revokes the previous Accessibility Standards for Customer Service and the Exemption from Reporting Requirements.

In addition to the integration of the earlier Standards, the Regulation reflects the following changes:

  1. a change to the definition of "large organization" to be increased from one with 20 or more employees to be one with 50 or more employees in Ontario;
  2. ALL members of the organization must be trained on accessible customer service and how to interact with people with different disabilities, and not just those employees who worked with customers or created policies and procedures;
  3. Organizations must consider certain factors, including consulting with the person with a disability to understand their needs, before requiring a support person to accompany the individual;
  4. "large organizations" must, if they have not already done so, create a policy governing the provision of goods, services or facilities to persons with disabilities, under the new Customer Service Standards section of the Regulation, and notify the public of the availability of this document; and
  5. organizations with less than 50 employees are no longer required to put their accessible customer service policy in writing or make it public – though they may still have reporting requirements.

Like Bill 132, all employers in Ontario must ensure compliance or face liability. We are working with our clients to review their policies, update them as needed and ensure that required training is implemented and documented.

Conclusion

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