Employment Standard
The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act
The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) is a law that sets out accessibility standards that organizations must follow. The standards aim to make Ontario more accessible and inclusive.
Accessibility Plans
An accessibility plan describes the actions an organization will take to prevent and remove barriers and when it will do so. An accessibility plan creates a road map for an organization to increase accessibility. It’s the actions that support an organization’s commitment to accessibility and its accessibility policies.
Accessibility Policy
An accessibility policy states what rules or principles an organization will put in place to support achieving its accessibility goals.
Accessible Formats
Formats that are an alternative to standard print and are accessible to people with disabilities. May include large print, recorded audio and electronic formats, and braille.
Accommodation
Making arrangements to allow a person with a disability to equally benefit or participate. There is no set formula for accommodating people with disabilities. The person involved must be consulted. Some examples of accommodation: flexibility in work hours or break times or providing a document in an accessible format such as large print.
Career Development
Providing additional responsibilities within an employee’s current position and the movement of an employee from one job to another in an organization that may be higher in pay, provide greater responsibility or be at a higher level in the organization or any combination of them and, for both additional responsibilities and employee movement, is usually based on merit or seniority, or a combination of them.
Communication Supports
Supports that individuals with disabilities may need to access information. Some examples include plain language, sign language interpreter, reading the information out loud to a person with vision loss, adding captioning to videos or using written notes to communicate with someone who is hard of hearing.
Designated Public Sector Organization
Refers to organizations listed in Schedule 1 (Broader Public Sector) of the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation. These organizations include hospitals, universities, colleges of applied arts and technology, district school boards, and organizations that provide public transportation. Designated public sector also means every municipality and every person or organization listed in Column 1 of Table 1 of Ontario Regulation 146/10, of the Public Service of Ontario Act, 2006.
Electronic Format
Documents in an electronic format.
Government of Ontario and Legislative Assembly
Includes every ministry of the Government of Ontario, the Office of the Premier, and the Legislative Assembly including constituency offices of the members of the Assembly.
Individual Accommodation Plan
An individual accommodation plan is a formal way of recording and reviewing the workplace-related accommodations that will be provided to an employee with a disability.
The Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation
The Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation (IASR) sets out the accessibility standards under the AODA. The standards are rules that businesses and organizations in Ontario need to follow to identify, remove and prevent barriers so that people with disabilities have more opportunities to participate in everyday life. The standards are: Customer Service, Information and Communications, Employment, Transportation and Design of Public Spaces.
Large Designated Public Sector Organization
A designated public sector organization with 50 or more employees (such as municipalities, hospitals, universities, colleges of applied arts and technology, district school boards, and organizations that provide public transportation).
Large Organization
A private or not-for-profit organization that provides goods, services or facilities to the public or to other organizations and has 50 or more employees in Ontario. It does not include the Government of Ontario, Legislative Assembly, or designated public sector organizations.
Legislative Assembly
Refers to the Offices of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario including all the offices of the Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs), their constituency offices in their ridings and the offices of those appointed on the address of the Assembly, such as the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
Ontario Government
Refers to the executive of the government and operational branches, including all the ministries of the Government of Ontario and the Office of the Premier.
Performance Management
Activities related to assessing and improving employee performance, productivity and effectiveness, with the goal of facilitating employee success.
Redeployment
Software programs that allow users to read the text displayed on the computer screen with a speech synthesizer. Often used by people with vision loss or have a learning disability.
Screen Reader Software
Unwelcome, reasonably offensive treatment that is related to any protected characteristics.
Small Designated Public Sector Organization
A designated public sector organization with one to 49 employees such as the Ontario Office of the Fairness Commissioner and some municipalities.
Small Organization
A private or not-for-profit organization that provides goods, services or facilities to the public or to other organizations and has one to 49 employees in Ontario. It does not include the Government of Ontario, Legislative Assembly, or designated public sector organizations.
Text Transcript
A text transcript of visual or audio information.
Undue Hardship
Occurs when the benefit of providing accommodation is outweighed by severe negative effects such as very high cost or health and safety issues. Concrete evidence is required to establish undue hardship.
The information contained on this page is for informational purposes only.
It does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice.