Looking forward, organizations will be required to train employees, volunteers, persons who participate in developing the organization's policies, and other persons who provide goods, services or facilities on behalf of the organization on both the accessibility standards and the Human Rights Code of Ontario. Large organizations will have until January 1, 2015, to meet the training requirements, whereas small organizations will have until January 1, 2016.
The majority of the remaining obligations under the Employment Standard, the Information and Communications Standard and the Transportation Standard will not become binding on private sector organizations with 50 or more employees until 2016 and private sector organizations with fewer than 50 employees until 2017.
Conclusion
Compliance with the AODA and the various applicable standards is
mandatory and failure to comply may lead to fines. Moreover, compliance with
the obligations under AODA can be relevant to other matters arising in
the human rights sphere. For example, in 2012 the Human Rights Tribunal of
Ontario ordered a business to produce evidence and records of employee training
under the Customer Service Standard in the context of a human rights complaint.1To prepare for the additional compliance requirements, employers should familiarize themselves with the general requirements under the Integrated Standards and be ready to implement any additional specific requirements that apply to them.
Do you know how far
toward compliance your company is?
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 orsandra_broekhof@sympatico.ca
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