First Reference Talks Blog: August

AODA administrative monetary penalties scheme – three strikes  you’re out!

Author: Suzanne Cohen Share

Posted on Wednesday, August 24th, 2011 at 09:00

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA)  allows for severe maximum monetary penalties for any violation to the Act. The  maximum penalties under the AODA include:

• A person and unincorporated organizations that are guilty of a major offence  under this Act can be fined up to $50,000 dollars for each day the violation  continues
• A corporation that is guilty can be fined up to $100,000 per day
• Directors and officers of a corporation with fiduciary responsibility who  are guilty are liable to a fine of up to $50,000 a day

This said, to encourage compliance, the government has established an  administrative monetary penalties scheme that determines how and why an  individual or corporation might face a penalty or fine. The scheme was  established under Part V, Compliance, of the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation,  which came into force July 1, 2011.

The scheme allows a ministry director or a designate to issue an order  against a person, organization or corporation to pay a penalty amount as a  result of non-compliance with the AODA or any of the accessibility  standards.

These penalties and fines will depend on the severity and history of the  contravention. The director will determine the severity of the contravention by  ranking the contravention as minor, moderate or major.

• A contravention of an administrative requirement is minor
• A contravention of a requirement for organizational preparedness is  moderate
• A contravention is major where it involves a priority requirement that  includes, but is not limited to, a contravention that may pose a health or  safety risk to persons with disabilities

The contravention history of the person or organization will be determined by  ranking it as minor, moderate or major in the following manner:

• A contravention history is minor where there has been no more than one  previous contravention within the period of the current two reporting  cycles
• A contravention history is moderate where there have been between two and  five previous contraventions within the current two reporting cycles period
• A contravention history is major where there have been six or more previous  contraventions within the current two reporting cycles period

A reporting cycle is a 12-month period. The current two reporting cycles  period discussed above begins on the first day the person or organization must  file the accessibility report and ends on the last day before the next report  must be filed.  If a person or organization filed an accessibility report before  July 1, 2011, the two reporting cycles period is calculated from the first day  that the person or organization was required to file an accessibility  report.

For organizations and individuals that are exempt from the reporting  requirement, the two reporting cycles period consists of the 12-month period  that begins at the earliest of the following and ends at the end of each  12-month period:

• The first day that a director requests reports or information from the  person or organization
• The first day that an inspector requires a person or organization to produce  a document, record or thing
• The first day that the person or organization receives or is deemed to have  received a notice of order under Act

So what are these escalating administrative penalties for  non-compliance?

The largest lump sum penalty amount that can be issued to an individual or an  organization that is not a corporation is $2,000 and the maximum for a  corporation is $15,000.  These maximum amounts can be issued per day. The  potential for daily amounts will be reserved for contraventions that fall within  the “major compliance history and major impact” category. Decision will be made  on a case-by-case basis with careful consideration of the circumstances before  an order for a daily amount is issued.

Table 1. Individuals or unincorporated  organizations
Impact of Contravention	Major (priority  requirement)	Moderate (organizational  preparedness)	Minor (administrative/  operational)
Major compliance history (>6 previous  contraventions)	$2,000 (can be issued per day)	$1,000	$500
Moderate compliance history (2–5 previous  contraventions)	$1,000	$500	$250
Minor compliance history (first  contravention)	$500	$250	$200

Table 2. Administrative penalties for  corporations
Impact of Contravention	Major (priority  requirement)	Moderate (organizational  preparedness)	Minor (administrative/  operational)
Major compliance history (>6 previous  contraventions)	$15,000 (can be issued per day)	$10,000	$5,000
Moderate compliance history (2–5 previous  contraventions)	$10,000	$5,000	$2,500
Minor compliance history (first  contravention)	$2,000	$1,000	$500

Thus, to be issued an order with the maximum penalty amount, the person,  organization or corporation must:

• Have a compliance history that includes six or more previous contraventions;  and
• The contravention must be a priority requirement of the accessibility  standard, as determined by the ministry

Persons and organizations that are facing a director’s order will receive  notice and will have an opportunity to make written submissions explaining the  non-compliance. The person or organization must submit a response within 30 days  after the order was made. A director’s review of the submission can result in  the decision to reduce or rescind the initial penalty amount. The decision to  reduce or rescind the initial penalty amount will be made on a case-by-case  basis, taking into account the explanation provided by the organization and  other factors such as steps taken to come into compliance and any economic  benefit derived from the contravention.

In the event a person or an organization appeals a fine, the Regulation  designates the Licence Appeal Tribunal to hear and determine the appeal.

If an organization fails to pay an administrative monetary penalty within the  time specified in the order (within 30 days after the order was made, unless the  order specifies a longer period), and makes no submission to the director, or  appeal to the designated tribunal, the order can be filed with a local registrar  of the Superior Court of Justice to be enforced like a civil court order.

Failing to comply with a director’s order is an offence under the AODA that  can be prosecuted.

The government is appearing to use a nurturing approach to ensure compliance.  The AODA has harsh maximum penalties but the Integrated Accessibility Standards  Regulation softens the blow with substantially lower monetary penalties before  the maximum penalties can occur.

I hope everyone is now clear on the approach a director will take to first  encourage compliance and then prepare to give the non-compliant organization  smaller monetary penalties. The initial penalties act as a reminder to  organizations that after two years the higher amounts may be rapidly  enforced.

This is just one of the tools directors may use to enforce compliance.  Directors can also issue general compliance orders.

We all have a lot of work to do to accomplish accessibility, but one thing is  clear: early recognition of the AODA allows organizations time to learn and plan  ways to meet legal obligations. By understanding your obligations now, you can  begin to draft your policies, practices and procedures, as well as your  accessibility plan. Then, you actually have to do what you promise to do in  those policies , practices and procedures and multi-year plans.

There is still a lot to talk about. Don’t forget to tune in for my next  post.

Suzanne Cohen Share
Access (SCS) Consulting Services

First Reference Talks Blog

AODA: Who let the dogs out? Saying ‘yes’ to all service animals

Author: Suzanne Cohen Share

Posted on Wednesday, September 28th, 2011 at 09:00

inShare.25

You may have read the recent story about a blind rowing champ who was asked to leave the premises of an Esso gas station store. Victoria Nolan attempted to enter the premises with her guide dog when an employee promptly told her to leave the store. Ms. Nolan is not new to this problem, and she contacted the police who extracted an apology from the employee. An Esso spokesperson stated that the company tells retailers to allow service animals onto their premises. Apparently, there was a communication breakdown when instructing this employee about the topic of service animals.

So who really let the guide dogs out? The problem with this story is that guide dogs have been allowed on public premises via the Blind Person’s Rights Act for some 21 years. The Act also prohibits discrimination in housing and clarifies other issues important to people who are blind.

For 21 years we have had a provincial law that many people are still not aware of. A service dog should not be such an issue when discussing new rights under the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service. What is new in the standards is that all service animals are allowed on public places unless excluded by another law, usually for health and safety reasons.

I remember in 2009, when a cab driver’s license was revoked for refusing Ms. Nolan entry with her guide dog. The driver showed no remorse. Then there was another story of a taxi company that would not commit to a policy allowing guide dogs in their taxicabs. My immediate personal reaction was: what are they thinking? The law is the law, and a driver and business owner were pondering whether they would choose to comply with this law? One might think after the driver lost his license and there was plenty of press covering the story that Ms. Nolan would not encounter the same discrimination again. Wrong; and we are likely to see more confusion on this topic in the new year when all service animals are allowed in places where the public is admitted.

Blind persons already have a legal right to pursue their complaints in court and need not wait for businesses and other organizations to comply under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). The fines and penalties for non-compliance under the AODA have been explained here. Ms. Nolan can use this avenue to seek compliance, but one complaint does not trigger financial penalties. The AODA requires three complaints against an organization before specific actions are taken. In the interim, educating non-compliant organization is the primary goal. But people who are not blind and require a service animal that is not a dog are likely to meet discrimination, and can complain using the customer service standard as their avenue to seek justice.

I recall a professor in Greek and Roman history who stated a law only becomes a law when the public is irritated enough by a specific action committed by too many people. In this case, people with disabilities have been bothered for far too long and seniors have similar complaints. With 15.5 percent of the population requiring protections, and the numbers only increasing in the future, they are now a large enough group to insist their rights be enforced.

If you have learned about the rights of people with disabilities to bring their service animals onto your public premises, then please follow the regulation. If you own a pet, do not try to pass it off as a service animal, because this will just cause commotion. Before we know it there might be more laws limiting your personal pet’s right of access to certain public places. We are picking up our pooches’ poop now by a law created because owners allowed their pets to defecate everywhere.

A service animal is a necessity and it trumps how we feel. Personally, I love animals, so I am fine with this regulation. I have seen the calming effect of a guide dog in an office environment. I look forward to people with disabilities feeling more secure in the public domain, and if the animal is necessary due to a disability then I’m happy to say, get out of the house, and meet this kinder, educated public that embraces diversity and your service animals.

Suzanne Cohen Share
Access (SCS) Consulting Services

First Reference Talks: July blog

AODA: Why do I have to notify the public when there is a  disruption of services?

Author: Suzanne Cohen Share

Posted on Wednesday, July 27th, 2011 at 09:00

 

In Ontario, under the Accessibility Standards  for Customer Service, as of January 1, 2012, organizations are required  to publicly notify customers of temporary disruptions of services or facilities  or if they are expected to be temporarily unavailable in the near future,  including the steps to take to access alternative methods.  This includes  planned as well as unplanned service disruptions. Any disruption of services or  facilities that people with disabilities need to access your products or  services requires proper notification. You will provide a description of  alternative facilities or services if they are available. This notice is  important to people with disabilities because they often go to a lot of trouble  to access your goods or services. For example, they may book accessible transit,  or arrange for someone to drive them.

First you want to identify the services you offer that people with  disabilities rely on. Examples of services people with disabilities rely on are  elevators and escalators. Notification must include reasons for the disruption  and the estimated duration. You will provide a description of alternative  facilities or services if they are available. Notice may be provided in easily  seen places on the organization’s premises, on a website if any, or by any  reasonable method. When posting your notice on the premises choose places that  rapidly provide information to the public.

One area you might not have considered is an accessible washroom or any  washroom. If you provide this amenity and customers rely on it, include this on  the list of things that require notification when disrupted. Feel free to take  this policy and extend it to benefit the general population. The notifications  you will post in an appropriate public place should not target people with  disabilities. You would just use words like Dear guest, patron, customer, etc.  Perhaps a notification for the general bathroom will also please all your  customers. Anyone who counts on this amenity can attest to the fact that a  disruption can be a huge inconvenience.

A best practice is to prepare the templates in advance and decide where you  want to post the notification. You may want specific templates prepared for  chronic problems or anything with a regular scheduled maintenance shutdown.  Allocate the responsibility to specific staff or departments and let them know  the notification has to answer all of these questions:

• What is the reason for the disruption?
• How long do you anticipate the disruption will last?
• What alternative facilities, if any, are available?

If the disruption means the customer cannot access your services, you may  also inform them on your website, if you have one, and perhaps on the telephone.  Some organizations may decide to post the disruption notice on the pole by the  parking spots for people with disabilities. This tells a person with a  disability not to bother disembarking and proceed to find what they need  elsewhere. Do what you reasonably can to provide information that can reach your  customer as efficiently as possible.

Since you are obliged to provide a reason for the disruption you may want to  train staff to use specific words that do not cause alarm or provide unnecessary  visual details. Some reasons may just be regular maintenance or upgrades causing  a temporary disruption of service. Sometimes the problem is so simple you may  want to use words like “a broken pipe”.

Allocating responsibilities

Example: A staff person discovers a disruption and informs the staff person  in charge of calling maintenance. The second staff person is in charge of  placing the notice signs in conspicuous (public) places and informing the  persons in charge of websites and the main telephone switchboard about the  service disruption. The person at the switchboard may be taught to include a  message about the disruption on the automated telephone customer service system.  If you are aware the customer cannot gain access to your facilities, and you  expect the disruption to last a long time, you will want other methods to  continue to provide customer service. Prepare staff to offer alternatives and be  creative to keep customers satisfied.

Make your policy and procedures clear to everyone

Example: The only elevator to reach your organization is under repair for the  expected duration of three days. You post the notice of disruption of service on  your website, post a sign at the site of the disruption and post a notice at the  entrances. You offer a different method to reach the customer. You may offer  appointments to meet the customer at a mutually agreeable and accessible  location.

If you are an organization obligated to keep documentation, you will:

• Record who is responsible for what action
• Decide what level of detail about your organization you want to provide the  public and government
• State in your policy that you will provide a notice of disruption of  services, and include the legal obligations
• Decide if you want to include the departments responsible for providing  notification; you may not want to provide a specific name of a person  responsible, but you may want to include the title of the person or the  department in charge

Assess all the assistive devices and services you provide people with  disabilities and come up with a plausible case scenario in the event there is a  disruption of service. You know your minimum legal obligations and what work  needs to be done.

You may choose to provide more detail, for example, so when a disruption  occurs, the customer with a disability is aware you have a telephone sales  system or you are offering to meet the person with their order in another  location. You may want to communicate in your public policy what your general  alternatives are, to inform people with disabilities, reduce the number of  questions on simple topics and advance your customer service. If you are an  obligated organization with 20 or more employees, make legal documentation  requirements work in your favour to increase your effectiveness.

What if all of your services are disrupted?

Generally, disruptions to all of your services, such as during a power outage  or during a labour dispute, do not require this special notice. However, if the  disruption has a significant impact on people with disabilities, you should  provide notice of the disruption of service.

Why is this regulation just for people with  disabilities?

People with disabilities need this information in order to proceed with their  daily plans and change them when necessary. On the other hand, this is just good  customer service that really benefits everyone. Your clients will likely  appreciate the additional information. A parent with a baby carriage or anyone  using a cart benefits when they are informed the elevator or escalator is not  functioning. A person with a baby carriage or a few children has become used to  using the accessible washroom that often has a dual purpose of acting as a  family room. There are so many benefits everyone enjoys now because of laws  originally intended to aid people with disabilities. Thumbs up on the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, a great way  to say people with disabilities need something in order to have equal access,  when in reality we all benefit.

Suzanne Cohen Share, M.A., CEO
Access (SCS) Consulting Services o/b 623921  Ont. Ltd.

June article: A global topic with some laws in Ontario – written for First Reference Inc.

Service animals and people with disabilities – AODA best practices

Author: Suzanne Cohen Share

Posted on Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011

Image: www.accessiblecustomer servicetraining.com

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. 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. Believe it or not, you might see a bird, cat or other trained animals. These animals provide services to individuals helping them function with greater self-sufficiency; prevent injuries; and summon help in a crisis.

A service animal is specially trained to assist an individual with disabilities. If you can identify that the service animal is used by a person with a disability for reasons relating to a disability, in Ontario, the person cannot be asked to prove the animal is working. If it is not readily apparent that the animal is a service animal, then the Ontario regulation states that a letter may be requested from a physician or nurse practitioner confirming that the person requires the animal for reasons relating to a disability. Under no circumstances is the service provider allowed to ask about the nature of the disability.

Note that doctors and nurse practitioners do not use standardized letterhead, and you might have difficulty confirming a letter is real. Please note that people with disabilities may not be aware of the need for the letter. You may want to allow the person to enter your premises with a polite request to bring a letter the next time. In any case, the animal must be trained and under control of the person with a disability.

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.

Customers might bring their household pet with the knowledge that it is difficult for you to identify a service animal. You should acknowledge this possibility in your policy. You may decide to allow on your premises any animal that is well-behaved. A detailed policy, practice and procedure will provide these rules and remedies. Below are some questions to consider when preparing your protocols:

1. If staff cannot recognize the animal as working, do you want them to ask for a letter? Do you want to offer one visit with grace if the letter is not produced?
2. Do you want to allow people to enter with an animal and presume they are service animals?
3. Where an animal is excluded by law from your premises, you must still take steps to make sure that you can provide your goods or services to the person with a disability.
4. Think of examples where conflict might occur between customers and staff who have different disabilities. Use examples in your training to help staff respond and serve customers appropriately.

Take the time necessary to make quality decisions on this topic. For international readers, your country may already have a similar law. In the global endeavour to remove barriers for people with disabilities, numerous other countries are moving forward with a comparable approach.

Suzanne Cohen Share, M.A., CEO
Access (SCS) Consulting Services
o/b 623921 Ont. Ltd.

Read more: http://blog.firstreference.com/2011/06/22/service-animals-and-people-with-disabilities-%e2%80%93-best-practices/#ixzz1Q33I37f5

Increase Your Audience by being Accessible – Access to Digital Content

 

Attention Arts organizations – the information contained here may prove invaluable. Access (SCS) Consulting Services can help you solve your accessibility needs and increase your patronage.

 

Arts organizations have long been struggling financially; this in part has to do with cuts to arts funding and in part due to declining audiences. Making your venue accessible for people with disabilities, seniors, friends and family can increase your profitability.

 

People with disabilities make up 15.5% of the population, which is a significant number when you consider audience development.  Providing access to digital content, making exhibits and performances accessible could help to capture this market. People with disabilities, seniors and their companions have money to spend and want to enjoy the arts.

 

While Arts organizations are slowly beginning to make an effort to make events accessible with audio description, closed captioning and ASL, they consistently disregard one very important aspect of making their events fully accessible: access to digital content.  Potential patrons may not be able to interact with content on websites, PDF documents, forms, ticketing information, videos and other content.  As a result, your organization may not be attracting a large segment of the population that can make your events more profitable. These barriers need to be addressed if change is to happen.

 

The goal here is to make the arts accessible to all people – a goal that needs to be adopted both in the material universe as well as in policy-making circles. We must ensure that all people, artists and patrons, have the ability to participate in the arts with ease and dignity. This is a win/win situation for everyone!

 

What Is Digital Content?

Digital content is any information that is published or distributed in digital form, including; text, data, sound recordings, photographs and images, motion pictures and software.

What Needs To Be Made Accessible?

• Web Design and Usability (including online ticketing)
• Text and data
• photographs, images
• Audio/Video
• PDF (including documents, applications and facility rental forms)
• Word and PowerPoint documents
• Events and Performances

 

As more information is transferred electronically, making digital content accessible becomes a social responsibility, especially if the content is meant for the public.

 

Making digital content accessible is neither a difficult nor an expensive task. Most common software applications like Adobe PDF maker and Microsoft Office have built-in tools for making documents accessible.

 

While providing accessibility benefits people with disabilities who are deemed a large minority group, it should not be forgotten that these same features are useful for seniors, people who have low internet bandwidth, and individuals accessing content through mobile devices. Making digital content simple to interact with is a priority when attracting a wide audience.

 

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) outlines the following four basic principles in making websites accessible:

 

Perceivable — Information and user interface components must be presentable to users such that they can perceive the presented information, i.e. it can’t be invisible to all their senses.

 

Operable — Users must be able to operate interface components and navigate. The interface cannot require interaction that a user cannot perform.

 

Understandable— Users must be able to understand the information as well as the operation of the user interface.

 

Robust— Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies. Users must be able to access the content even as technologies advance.

 

ACCESS (SCS) CONSULTING SERVICES

What makes Access (SCS) Consulting Services Different?

We engage experienced arts practitioners with disabilities who understand the industry as well as accessibility compliance standards.

Website Audits

Ensure that your website is accessible. We can provide:

 

• Evaluation of your site using WCAG 2.0 and W3C guidelines,U.S.section 508 of the rehabilitation act and AODA legislation
• Explanation of what and where the problems are, including a ranking of priorities and specific instruction on what needs to be done to address each issue
• Overall best practices, recommendations
• A usability section provided by both screen magnifier and screen reader users

Document Conversion

• Convert your documents into an accessible format that works with adaptive technologies.
• Adapting document styles and formats in Word, PowerPoint and other formats
• Creating accessible PDFs from documents in Word, PowerPoint and other formats
• Modifying your existing PDFs with accessibility tags and alternative text for images
• Converting your existing PDFs into other formats such as accessible HTML, Word and PowerPoint

Special Workshops and Seminars

• Accessibility training
• Accessible web design to reach a wider audience
• Document Accessibility
• Performance and Event accessibility:
• Audio Description
• Captions
• TouchTours
• ASL 

 

 

Leave the Accessibility to Us!

Need help making digital content accessible?  Contact Access (SCS) Consulting Services to try our NEW website design and PDF document conversion services. Our new associate, Wanda Fitzgerald, is an expert accessibility and digital content consultant with more than 15 years experience. We make existing documents, forms or other digital content accessible.  Our prices will make you smile. Our expert services will make you accessible! See www.access-scs-consulting.com or call 416-561-7942.

AODA: Inappropriate words can bite – the customer service standard

Author: Suzanne Cohen Share

Posted on Wednesday, May 25th, 2011 at 09:30

The Accessibility Standard for Customer Service Regulation obligates Ontario businesses and their employees to communicate with persons with disabilities in a manner that takes into account the person’s disability. Employers must train employees to interact and communicate with people that have various types of disabilities. Training should also cover appropriate terminology.

When I returned to university, the topic of disability and accessibility terminology and use of words was frustrating. I learned about the social model of disability and the medical model of disability. The medical model of disability has crept into the psyche of society so that many of us often refer to a person by their disability or disease as opposed to their name and positive attributes. This medical model of describing people has led to unnecessary discrimination and stigmatization.

People with disabilities are not alone in wanting terminology to convey their positive abilities as human beings, rather than the negative language of their conditions. A case in point is a memorable encounter I had many years ago. My partner and I were invited for an evening to the house of a friend who wanted us to meet another couple that were close friends of her. We arrived first, and, prior to the other couple’s arrival, the hostess felt it necessary to tell the story of how the woman had been violently assaulted. I knew it was wrong for my friend to have labelled this woman a “victim” prior to introduction. I immediately asked if she was telling the story because the woman was still in a state of recovery. My host said no, the incident was years ago. My friend had labelled this woman a victim without malicious intent, but the severity of the story certainly made the encounter less pleasant than it could have been. The “victim” had no idea when she walked in the door that her friend had conveyed a tragic story that had occurred years ago. The woman was a delightful person whose company I’ve had the pleasure to enjoy on more than one occasion. Had I not been informed prior to introduction, I certainly would have had no indication there was a traumatic incident in her past. However, another person in that situation might have spent the evening awkwardly waiting for the woman to manifest a mental disability.

How we use our words to perpetuate negative stereotypes is important, and how we refer to another person is vital. But how can we recognize simple terms that, when combined with other words, may convey the wrong message? What do we do when words like “normal” or “average” are common terms in science, statistics, government policy, education and medicine, and have become socially functional words that may simultaneously be insulting? While attending school, I don’t think any of us appreciated receiving marks that were categorized as “below average”. The method of grading students is to inform the student, parents and education system at what level that individual is performing in relation to others. A low grade may make the student work harder to attain a higher rating. A consistently low grade, even after hard work and perhaps tutoring, may indicate the student is not adept in a particular topic. It has taken a long time for educators to admit that perhaps this method of grading is not appropriate, and perhaps “below average” students would benefit from an alternative teaching method.

It is interesting to see that words like “crippled” and “lame” have been readily accepted as negative terms. Yet because all of us are used to being graded in relation to the average from infancy, we have difficulty letting go of some words to refer to a person with a particular disability. When describing a person with a specific disability, the words “disorder”, “disease”, “below average” and “dysfunction” flow off the tongue and pages. Audiences absorb the negative associations from repeated use of these words in reference to people with disabilities.

Today, our understanding and social treatment of people with disabilities attempts to focus on a person’s “differing abilities” rather than his or her disabilities. While many advocacy groups have accepted “disability” as a necessary label, they want to focus on the “ability” portion of the word. For example, now it is common to write “disAbility” to remind a reader persons with disabilities still have abilities.

The terminology associated with disability is fluid and a word that may have been accepted last year may have changed this year; thus making the learning curve a little difficult. Finding the right words can be a daunting experience, but if you aim to stay within the lexicon of positive social words, you are going in the right direction.

This strategy also works when it comes to training. Unless specific employees need to know medical terms, there is no reason to provide medical reasons for the variety of disabilities they may encounter. For example, at no time does a server have a right to ask about the nature of a customer’s disability. Training should be based on alternative methods to communicate and interact when the customer is not responsive to a specific method. Under the customer service standard, every organization commits itself (explicitly in a mission or policy statement) to the core principles of dignity, independence, integration and equality.

You may draw parallels with other groups that have required us to shift our way of thinking and expressing ourselves. Minority groups have had to fight for the right to be treated as equal and to stop being the target of discrimination. Everyone has had to learn preferable methods to refer to previously marginalized groups. If you are old enough, you will remember numerous words used to describe people of varying ethnicities and cultures that perpetuated negative stereotypes. You may also remember that the appropriate words kept changing until the specific target group found an acceptable English word we can use in our communication.

By the way, did you hear the great joke about the “midget”? It is still a good laugh if the word is replaced with “little person”.

Suzanne Cohen Share, M.A., CEO
Access (SCS) Consulting Services o/b 623921 Ont. Ltd.

http://www.access-scs-consulting.com

AODA and the relationship with the Ontario Human Rights Code

Author: Suzanne Cohen Share

Posted on Wednesday, April 27th, 2011 at 9:15 am

While learning about the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), organizations should be aware of the legal limitations of the Act in relation to the Ontario Human Rights Code. Many people are unaware that the Code takes precedent.

I’ve been reading the public responses to the Proposed Integrated Accessibility Regulation. One submission that I find fascinating comes from the Ontario Human Rights Commission. The submission clearly states that specific topics in the proposed regulation are below the standard already set by the Code. Some of us may have presumed that the provincial government would harmonize AODA legal obligations with the Code. The AODA clearly recognizes existing legal obligations, stating that:

Nothing in this Act or in the regulations diminishes in any way the legal obligations of the Government of Ontario or of any person or organization with respect to persons with disabilities that are imposed under any other Act or otherwise imposed by law.

The most significant statement in the AODA is under the title Conflict: the law offering the highest level of accessibility for persons with disabilities prevails (2005, c. 11, s. 38). For example, the Ontario Human Rights Code prohibits organizations from discriminating against persons with disabilities in the provision of goods, services or facilities, accommodations, contracts, employment and education—now.

Are organizations likely to see a rise in litigation while fulfilling obligations under the AODA?

AODA regulations that obligate organizations to complete a specific accessibility accommodation are based on the number of employees in that organization. The Code, on the other hand, expects compliance unless your organization can prove undue hardship. Undue hardship is based on financial ability, health and safety requirements, and technical feasibility—not the size of the organization. As a result, many profitable organizations with few or no employees that demonstrate due diligence by complying with the AODA regulations, might later realize they are acting in conflict with the Code.

We would all benefit if the proposed regulations were written to work seamlessly with the Code. The commission’s submission on the Proposed Integrated Accessibility Regulation, includes 12 pages of recommendations that should be considered. The last statement regarding compliance and enforcement initiatives should be taken seriously:

The purpose of the AODA is to address accessibility barriers systemically and avoid case-by-case litigation so individuals with disabilities need only bring a matter before the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal as a last resort.

This statement is a notification to all organizations that if the government does not upgrade sections of the Proposed Integrated Accessibility Regulation, some of us may find ourselves in a courtroom.

So, imagine an organization with three employees reads the accessibility regulation and determines the company is off the hook from complying with specific accessibility requirements. A person with a disability complains about the company’s website and the policymakers state the organization is exempt. The person with a disability responds that you are not exempt under the Code and lodges a complaint, and it becomes a very messy situation for everyone involved.

The AODA was supposed to provide a viable road map to achieve accessibility and reduce time in courtrooms. Chances are that litigation will rise unless this problem is corrected.

Consider that some of the compliance dates in the proposed AODA regulation take away from the Code’s duty to accommodate unless it would cause undue hardship. Don’t be surprised if you thought you were following the law under the AODA, only later to realize you may lose in a courtroom because you could not prove an accessibility grievance would cause your organization undue hardship. Also, don’t be shocked when the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal is not amused when your legal representative tries to wave the AODA regulation as proof of the exemption. Mind you, a good legal representative will let you know that the Code is supreme and you need to qualify for undue hardship.

As we wait for the Proposed Integrated Accessibility Regulation to be finalized, there may be a chance this regulation will have sections that fall below the legal threshold of the Code’s duty to accommodate. My interest here is that you understand this factor when running your business. Below are two simple rules to avoid a legal entanglement:

1. The Ontario Human Rights Code is supreme over the AODA.
2. The law offering the highest level of accessibility for persons with disabilities prevails.

Hopefully, if we all keep these two rules in mind, we will avoid litigation. If the regulations released are below the thresholds of the Code, stick to the Code if your organization cannot claim undue hardship. If there is any other law in this country that better serves people with disabilities, then that law prevails.

I also recommend you include accessibility in your organization’s practices now.

My suggestion is not to wait for legislation to force you to comply by a certain date. If you are undergoing changes—for example, creating a new website—consider and include accessibility in the changes: make the website accessible now. This should reduce future expenses on upgrading or paying for a completely new site. Think accessible in all of your purchases, so when a future law states you must complete an action, you will be in control financially and may already meet your compliance obligations.

Suzanne Cohen Share, M.A., CEO
Access (SCS) Consulting Services