Service animals and people with disabilities – AODA best practices

In Ontario there is a regulation called the Accessibility Standard for Customer Service. One of the requirements of this regulation is that persons with disabilities are allowed to enter your organization’s public premises with a service animal. A person should be able to remain with the animal unless otherwise excluded by law. If the animal is excluded by law, you must have another measure available to enable the person to obtain, use or benefit from your organization’s goods or services. Note, a service animal is not a pet; he or she is a working animal and must not be excluded under your no-pets policy.

Service animals are used by people with many different kinds of disabilities. . These animals provide services to individuals helping them function with greater self-sufficiency; prevent injuries; and summon help in a crisis.  Examples of service animals include dogs used by people who are Blind, hearing alert animals for people who are Deaf, deafened or hard of hearing, and animals trained to alert an individual to an oncoming seizure and lead them to safety.

If there are any areas of your premises that are open to the public where animals are excluded by law they should be identified. You will need a solution so you have other measures to provide service to the person with a disability. You can decide to have your transactions take place in a separate area. You may provide a secure area to leave the animal, if the customer is comfortable doing so. In the latter case, you will have to provide support for the person who requires assistance.

Other situations may arise where there are health and safety reasons of another person by the presence of a service animal on premises open to the public, such as people with allergies to animals. Some of the options to consider may be creating distance between two individuals, eliminating in-person contact, changing the time the two receive service, and any other measures that would allow the person to use their service animal on the premises. The organization must consider all relevant factors and options in trying to find a solution that meets the needs of both individuals.

How are customers with Service animals treated in your organization?

If you are interested in learning more about Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) or how to make accessibility a natural part of your business through the application of Corporate Social Responsibility, please contact Sandra Broekhof @ 416-579-1035 or sandra_broekhof@sympatico.ca or visit www.accessibilitycompliance.ca 

AODA: The Employment Standard

Last week I began to talk about some of the components of the Integrated Accessibility Standard.  The Employment Standard requires an organization to be proactive in the identification, removal and prevention of barriers hindering the full participation in employment of persons with disabilities. It also requires that organizations have policies and procedures for establishing individual accommodation plans where barriers cannot be removed proactively, shifting the onus from the individual who needs the accommodation to the person who provides it.

Accessible formats and communication supports for employees

In addition to the above obligations, where an employee with a disability so requests it, every employer must consult with the employee to provide or arrange for the provision of accessible formats and communication supports for:

a) Information that is needed in order to perform the employee’s job; and
b) Information that is generally available to employees in the workplace.
The consultation determines the suitability of an accessible format or communication support, but the final determination as to which accessible format or communication support will be used rests with the employer.

Documented individual accommodation plans

Employers, except employers of small organizations, must develop and have in place a written process for the development of documented individual accommodation plans for employees with disabilities.
The process for the plans includes the following elements:

• The manner in which an employee requesting accommodation can participate in the development of the individual accommodation plan
• The means by which the employee is assessed on an individual basis
• The manner in which the employer can request an evaluation by an outside medical or other expert, at the employer’s expense, to determine if and how accommodation can be achieved
• The manner in which the employee can request the participation of a representative from their bargaining agent, where the employee is represented by a bargaining agent, or other representative from the workplace, where the employee is not represented by a bargaining agent, in the development of the accommodation plan
• The steps taken to protect the privacy of the employee’s personal information
• The frequency with which the individual accommodation plan will be reviewed and updated and the manner in which it will be done
• If an individual accommodation plan is denied, the manner in which the reasons for the denial will be provided to the employee
• The means of providing the individual accommodation plan in a format that takes into account the employee’s accessibility needs due to disability
• Individual accommodation plans must:
• If requested, include any information regarding accessible formats and communications supports provided
• If required, include individualized workplace emergency response information, and
• Identify any other accommodation that is to be provided

Obligated organizations will be required to provide employees with a copy of their individual accommodation plan.

How is your organization being proactive with the Employment Standard of the Integrated Accessibility Standard?

If you are interested in learning more about Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) or how to make accessibility a natural part of your business through the application of Corporate Social Responsibility, please contact Sandra Broekhof @ 416-579-1035 or sandra_broekhof@sympatico.ca or visit www.accessibilitycompliance.ca