Ontario passed the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act in 2005, becoming the first jurisdiction in Canada to commit to breaking down barriers through mandatory standards. These accessibility standards are the rules that businesses and organizations in Ontario will have to follow to identify, prevent and remove barriers for people with disabilities.
Ontario is developing accessibility standards in key areas of everyday life, including:
- customer service, which came into force January 1, 2008
- transportation
- information and communications
- employment
- the built environment, including buildings and other structures.
Committees of people from the disability and business communities:
- develop proposed accessibility standards
- release an initial proposed standard for public review
- revise the proposed standard to incorporate public input
- submit a final proposed standard to the government for consideration as law.
ACCESSIBLE EMPLOYMENT
The committee’s proposed employment accessibility standard — the fourth standard to be released — is available online for the public to review until May 22, 2009.
The proposed accessibility standard includes every aspect of employment, from when a person applies for a job to the time an employee leaves their position. The committee’s initial standard proposes that employers in Ontario with at least one employee:
- develop accessible employment policies
- train employees on disability awareness
- have accessible recruitment and hiring practices
- make accommodation plans to help an employee with a disability on the job.
The proposed employment accessibility standard complements the Ontario Human Rights Code.
Visit www.AccessON.ca for more information on improving accessibility in the workplace and around your community.