Who has to comply with the Customer Service Standard?
The standard applies to all people, businesses and organizations that:
- provide goods or services either directly to the public or to other businesses or organizations
- have one or more employees in Ontario
It applies to public, non-profit and private sector organizations.
Public sector organizations, regardless of number of employees, that need to comply with the standard are designated in the standard and include:
Non-profit and private organizations that need to comply with the standard include, for example:
- places of worship, such as churches, synagogues, mosques and temples
- stores and shops
- restaurants
- theatres
What do businesses and organizations have to do to comply?
To comply, businesses and organizations must follow the requirements set out in the Customer Service Standard. You may wish to look at the Summary of Requirements
The summary is only an overview of the requirements and some of the details of the standard have been omitted, so you may want to refer to the standard and also the Guide to the Accessibility Standard for Customer Service, which explains the requirements.
What information is available to help businesses and organizations to comply with the Customer Service Standard?
More educational tools and resources are currently being developed to help organizations comply with the standard. Visit AccessON for updates.
There is a variety of information available to help you serve customers with disabilities:
Businesses and organizations should inform themselves of their obligations under the standard.
Individuals, businesses and organizations can also contact the AODA Contact Centre with questions about the AODA or its standards or visit our website. Services are available in English and French.
Toll-free: 1-866-515-2025
TTY: 416-325-3408 / 1-800-268-7095 (toll-free)
Fax: 416-315-3407
Website: www.AccessON.ca/compliance
These resources can help businesses and other organizations comply with the standard, but there may be circumstances where legal advice will be helpful in determining how the standard applies to your business.
When do businesses and organizations have to comply with the standard and file an accessibility report for Customer Service Standard?
To give businesses and other organizations time to implement the requirements of the standard, the timetable for complying and reporting for the Customer Service Standard is staggered.
Designated public sector organizations under Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 of the standard must comply by January 1, 2010. They are required to begin filing their accessibility reports in 2010.
All other businesses and organizations are required to comply by January 1, 2012. All of these businesses and organizations with 20 or more employees are also required to begin filing accessibility reports in 2012.
Under Ontario Regulation 430/07, businesses and organizations with fewer than 20 employees don’t have to report, but are still required to comply with the standard by January 1, 2012. Remember, the standard is the law.
When will the accessibility report form be available?
The accessibility report for the Customer Service Standard will be in an easy-to-complete, accessible format.
Organizations that are required to file accessibility reports must also make them available to the public. It is the responsibility of the individual organization to make their certified reports available to the public.
More information about reporting requirements and how to make reports available to the public is available. Please see the sample accessibility report on the customer service standard
What can I do if I feel that a business or organization is not complying with a requirement of the Customer Service Standard?
Keep in mind that designated public sector organizations will have to comply with the standard by January 1, 2010 and all other organizations will have to comply by January 1, 2012.
Businesses and organizations obligated under the Customer Service Standard are required to establish a process for receiving and responding to feedback about how they deliver goods and services to customers with a disability. This process must also address the actions to be taken if a complaint is received.
The information about the feedback process must be available to the public, and must allow you to provide your feedback in person, by telephone, in writing, by email or another electronic format, such as on disk, or otherwise. The feedback process must also specify the actions that the business or organization will take if a complaint is received.
You might consider the following two actions:
1. Submit your complaint with the business or organization.
If you think a business or organization might not be complying with the standard, consider raising the issue directly with the business or organization through its feedback process.
2. Contact the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario
If you feel you have been discriminated against based on your disability, consider contacting the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, which handles claims of discrimination filed under the Human Rights Code.
As part of the new human rights system, a new Human Rights Legal Support Centre will offer independent human rights-related legal and support services to individuals throughout Ontario, ranging from advice and support to legal representation. If someone decides to file a complaint with the Human Rights Tribunal, they may wish to first consult with the Human Rights Legal Support Centre.
The AODA does not have rules about filing or resolving individual complaints.
For more information on the AODA and its standards, visit the ministry website.
For more information on accessibility, visit AccessON.