Principles of Accessibility: September 2014

Making Buildings Accessible

The Ministry of Community and Social Services has performed reviews on public buildings in terms of accessibility. After decades of human rights law, with accessibility requirements firmly established, why are not all buildings in Ontario appropriately
accessible? Why does the Ministry need to review anything, yet again? Why
does The Ministry simply not require that buildings open to the public are
actually open to the entire public? Is this latest “review” simply just one
more excuse for the Government to forget its own human rights legislation?
Or does the Ministry even need an excuse as it seems to have forgotten that
accessibility is a matter of law, not pleading?

The Ministry’s latest paper is ensuring that parking lots, washrooms, hallways and elevators are more user-friendly. Property owners are being asked to make businesses accessible during renovations and aren’t be forced to retrofit existing properties. Why are they being asked to do what the law requires?

This review is in preparation for the Built Environment Standard of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. This is under public review right now. The final standard is expected to be passed into law sometime in the Fall.

Is your work building fully accessible? What can you do to make it accessible?

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

Some Work Barriers People with Disabilities still Face

While Ontario has made great strides in equal opportunity employment, companies might still be inadvertently discriminating against disabled individuals.

Many firms continue to engage in practices that shut out individuals with disabilities, often right from the application process, according to experts. And, observers note, disabled people’s marginalization in the labour market is compounded by the fact that Canada’s public system for disability benefits is essentially a confusing patchwork of programs.

Access denied

One reason for the high unemployment rate among people with disabilities are employer practices which essentially exclude them from the workforce—and many of these practices happen as early as the application process, experts note.

The interview process can also be a barrier for disabled individuals. Phone screening, for instance, is an issue for people with conditions such as cerebral palsy. Yet another barrier are the assumptions that many employers have about the skills of disabled people, their absence rates and the insurance costs they would pay if they hire those individuals. But many of these assumptions are erroneous—and often, the accommodations an employer has to make are not onerous or costly at all.

Instead, companies should focus on creating an “accepting environment,” . That involves educating not only managers but also co-workers about the experience of disability, she added, explaining that a disabled individual often spends more time with co-workers rather than a manager.

Observers point out that disabled people actually bring a lot of positive traits to the table. Some of the main ones are loyalty and diligence, since they’re willing to go the extra mile in order to keep their jobs, given that finding work is hard for them.

Patchwork of policies

Another major reason why Canada’s disabled community is largely on the margins of the labour market is the country’s incoherent set of disability support programs, according to experts. Unlike some other advanced nations, Canada has no uniform, national disability policy. What it has is a number of policies that vary across provinces and territories.

Currently, Canada has seven programs that offer benefits to disabled individuals. Examples of federal programs include the Canada Pension Plan—which in addition to retirement income also provides income in the event of disability—and the Registered Disability Savings Plan, a long-term savings program delivered by the Canada Revenue Agency. The provinces also offer disability benefits. Provincial workers’ compensation agencies administer benefits, too. All of these seven programs operate separately from each other, without any coordination. Each has a different definition of disability, eligibility criteria and generosity of benefits. Some are for work-related injuries; others are not.

Navigating this kind of complex system often causes people to fall through the cracks, according to observers.

What can you do to put these programs together?

Disabled Canadians Form Significant and Untapped Labour Pool

It’s not enough for the federal or provincial government to merely issue a report on the fact that labour-starved companies are overlooking a talented pool of disabled workers, says the head of a disabled advocacy group.A government-commissioned panel found that there are almost 800,000 people with disabilities who are capable of working in Canada and almost half of them have post-secondary education. The panel of private-sector employers was assembled by the federal government in the summer of 2012 and was asked to figure out how to better match job openings with the skills of workers with disabilities.

Uditsky, who heads an organization that helps people with developmental disabilities find employment, says the report is encouraging, but he wants Ottawa to follow it up with concrete measures. He wants to see steps such as tax incentives for companies employing people with disabilities and providing more resources for agencies.

It’s estimated that for people with developmental disabilities such as autism or Down’s Syndrome, less than 30 per cent hold jobs when more than 70 per cent could be employed, he said. Uditsky said people with disabilities may fly under the radar of human resources staff without the advocacy of groups like his.

Previous reports have also found that even the disabled who have jobs are often dramatically underemployed.

Panel members found that there is a broad willingness to hire workers with disabilities, but that more education and training is needed for companies to figure out how to overcome barriers and put their ideas into practice.

Mental health disabilities were found to be particularly problematic. That’s because employees have to admit to such disabilities in order to get special accommodation from employers.

In 2006, about 14.3 per cent of Canada’s population, or 4.4 million people, reported a disability of some kind.

With files from Canadian Press

What does your organization do to include more workers with disabilities?

Three Simple Ways to Make Your Hiring Accessible to Persons with Disabilities

A disability can affect someone’s body or mind, be mild or severe, happen at any stage of life, be long or short term but even taking into account employment barriers, the majority of persons with disabilities are skilled and able to actively work.

In a recent CBC interview, David Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, explored the notion that “people with disabilities are more productive and therefore are better employees”. He spoke from his own experience as a person with a disability, describing how his limited employment options pushed him to be more engaged in his field of journalism.

In Ontario, , the Accessibility Standard for Employment, part of the Accessibility for Ontarians With Disabilities Act, requires employers to build accessibility into their entire employment life cycle, from hiring to career development.

Three Simple Ways to Make Your Hiring Accessible Today

When it comes to hiring, small changes to your recruitment process can enable your organization to attract persons with disabilities alongside other applicants.

Start by making sure your recruitment process sends a clear message that you welcome people with disabilities to work with you. Here are three practical ways to do that:

1) Include a note in all job ads something like “We welcome applications from persons with disabilities. Let us know how we can accommodate you to participate in the recruitment process.”

2) When you call and/or email someone for an interview offer accommodation. You can say something like “We’re excited to get to know you in this interview. Is there anything we can do to accommodate you to participate?”

3) Say it again when you offer the job “we offer ongoing accommodation”. Once again, employees are the experts in what they need, and ensuring they are welcome and comfortable will mean that they are present, equipped, and engaged for the work. It’s likely the law in your jurisdiction it is in ours and data show that the vast majority of accommodations fall in the (very accessible) range of $1 to $500 per employee.

With these simple changes, you’re on your way to attracting a larger talent pool with much to offer your organization.

Tuesday, September 30, 2014