Aug 5, 2014 | News
Has your Ontario-based company met the requirements that came into effect January 1, 2014 under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (the “AODA”)? Lexology.com shares the following key points that are now required under Ontario.
The purpose of the AODA is to create a “barrier-free Ontario” for persons with disabilities through the implementation of a number of general requirements, along with five “Accessibility Standards” in the areas of: Customer Service; Information and Communications; Employment; Transportation; and Design of Public Spaces.
If your organization has 50 or more employees, as of January 1, 2014 you are now also required to comply with some general requirements as well as requirements under the Information and Communications Standard.
- The Establishment of Accessibility Policies and Multi-Year Accessibility Plans
You must develop, implement, and maintain policies setting out how you will meet your obligations under the AODA. These policies must include a statement of organizational commitment to meet the accessibility needs of persons with disabilities in a timely manner and must be made available to the public. In addition, you must establish, implement, maintain, and document a multi-year accessibility plan outlining your strategy to meet your obligations under the AODA. The multi-year accessibility plan must be posted on your website and must be updated at least once every five years.
- Incorporation of Accessibility Features for Self-Service Kiosks
If your organization designs or plans to acquire self-service kiosks, such as a self-checkout at a grocery store, you must now have regard to accessibility for persons with disabilities when designing, procuring, or acquiring self-service kiosks. This requirement applies only to new kiosks.
- Accessible Websites
If your organization has a website, you must ensure that it complies with certain accessibility guidelines, in two stages. As of January 1, 2014 new internet websites and new web content must comply with “Level A” of the World Wide Web Consortium Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (“WCAG”) 2.0. For example, websites need to be fully functional through the use of a keyboard. All internet websites and web content (retroactive to January 1, 2012) must comply with WCAG at “Level AA” by January 1, 2021.
By December 31, 2014, you must file an online accessibility report to confirm your organization is in compliance with these new requirements, and remains in compliance with any requirements that came into force at an earlier date.
Many obligations under the AODA will not be in effect for a number of years, such as the requirements under the Employment Standard. However, the requirement to develop and publicize accessibility policies and multi-year accessibility plans now means that you must consider well in advance how your organization will meet these future obligations. As these accessibility policies and multi-year accessibility plans will be readily available to the public, you will want to ensure your organization has an effective strategy in place for remaining in compliance with the AODA.
Learn more about the requirements of the AODA with ILScorp’s compliance training programs. The ILScorp AODA course has been accredited from RIBO for 1 credit hour in the Management Category. Electronic records for all staff who have completed the training are kept by ILScorp in case of an audit. Compliance includes training all employees on AODA standards. Failure to comply can result in fines of up to $100,000. Training with ILS can be completed completely online for only $30 per person. Register your staff today!
Excerpted from an article on Lexology.com
Mar 25, 2014 | News
The Ontario Government continues with its increased enforcement of compliance obligations under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (“AODA”). AODA is intended to make places of business, public and private, more accessible to persons with disabilities. Has your Ontario-based company met the requirements?
Basic policies and employee training, along with registration on the Government website, are the minimum requirements of AODA. In addition, private sector “large organizations” – those with 50 or more employees in Ontario – face duties to convert certain information into accessible formats, for persons with disabilities. This may include website information. Organizations are urged to examined the requirements spelled-out by the Province and to get any necessary assistance in instituting changes.
Lexology.com shares the following key points that are now required under Ontario. The purpose of the AODA is to create a “barrier-free Ontario” for persons with disabilities through the implementation of a number of general requirements, along with five “Accessibility Standards” in the areas of: Customer Service; Information and Communications; Employment; Transportation; and Design of Public Spaces.
If your organization has 50 or more employees, as of January 1, 2014 you are now also required to comply with some general requirements as well as requirements under the Information and Communications Standard.
- The Establishment of Accessibility Policies and Multi-Year Accessibility Plans
You must develop, implement, and maintain policies setting out how you will meet your obligations under the AODA. These policies must include a statement of organizational commitment to meet the accessibility needs of persons with disabilities in a timely manner and must be made available to the public. In addition, you must establish, implement, maintain, and document a multi-year accessibility plan outlining your strategy to meet your obligations under the AODA. The multi-year accessibility plan must be posted on your website and must be updated at least once every five years.
- Incorporation of Accessibility Features for Self-Service Kiosks
If your organization designs or plans to acquire self-service kiosks, such as a self-checkout at a grocery store, you must now have regard to accessibility for persons with disabilities when designing, procuring, or acquiring self-service kiosks. This requirement applies only to new kiosks.
- Accessible Websites
If your organization has a website, you must ensure that it complies with certain accessibility guidelines, in two stages. As of January 1, 2014 new internet websites and new web content must comply with “Level A” of the World Wide Web Consortium Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (“WCAG”) 2.0. For example, websites need to be fully functional through the use of a keyboard. All internet websites and web content (retroactive to January 1, 2012) must comply with WCAG at “Level AA” by January 1, 2021.
By December 31, 2014, you must file an online accessibility report to confirm your organization is in compliance with these new requirements, and remains in compliance with any requirements that came into force at an earlier date.
Many obligations under the AODA will not be in effect for a number of years, such as the requirements under the Employment Standard. However, the requirement to develop and publicize accessibility policies and multi-year accessibility plans now means that you must consider well in advance how your organization will meet these future obligations. As these accessibility policies and multi-year accessibility plans will be readily available to the public, you will want to ensure your organization has an effective strategy in place for remaining in compliance with the AODA.
Learn more about the requirements of the AODA with ILScorp’s compliance training programs. The ILScorp AODA course has been accredited from RIBO for 1 credit hour in the Management Category. Electronic records for all staff who have completed the training are kept by ILScorp in case of an audit. Compliance includes training all employees on AODA standards. Failure to comply can result in fines of up to $100,000. Training with ISL can be completed completely online for only $30 per person. Register your staff today!
Excerpted from an article on Lexology.com
Jan 7, 2014 | News
Is your Ontario business ready to comply with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) regulations that came into effect on Jan. 1, 2014? The AODA has been around for a while, but the end of 2013 marked the deadline for a number of reporting requirements.
As an overview, certain employers need to ensure that they have done the following:
- Public sector employers with 20 or more employees were to file a compliance report with the Ontario government by Dec. 31, 2013, confirming that they are currently compliant with the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service. The filing can be done online.
- By Jan. 1, 2014, those same employers were also required also develop policies governing how they will meet their requirements under the Integrated Accessibility Standards. In addition, a multi-year accessibility plan must be developed, posted on the organizations’ websites, and provided in an accessible format upon request.
- For employers with 50 or more employees in Ontario that are launching a new website or undertaking a significant website refresh after January 1, 2014, the website is required to conform to the World Wide Web Consortium Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 Level A unless an exception applies or the company can demonstrate that meeting the guidelines is not practical.
Recent Freedom of Information Act requests have demonstrated that about 70% of Ontario private sector employers with 20 or more employees have not yet complied with required self-reporting requirements to demonstrate that they are compliant with the AODA. Perhaps more importantly, most private sector employers with 20 or more employees don’t even realize that they have certain obligations under the AODA as of January 1, 2014.
Because most Ontario businesses are not compliant with the AODA, the Ontario government has begun issuing notices of non-compliance and has indicated that it intends to pursue businesses which are non-responsive.
For further information, see the Ontario government’s website on AODA requirements.
Is your company AODA compliant? Compliance includes training all employees on AODA standards. Failure to comply can result in fines of up to $100,000.
ILScorp offers an Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) online course. You can register online, complete the AODA compliance training program entirely online, for a one-time fee of just $30 per person and print your certificate of completion immediately. Electronic records are kept by ILScorp in case of an audit, plus the ILScorp AODA course has been accredited from RIBO for one hour in the Management Category.
The course material has been taken directly from a variety of Government publications (with minor editing for clarity) on the subject of the AODA, including those of the Queen’s Printer for Ontario, and has been gathered here for the express purpose of providing training for the public on the AODA laws in effect.
Register online or call us at 1-800-404-2211 today to get started.
Information excerpted from an article by Catherine Coulter, Dentons.
