Every year we get to December and wonder where the year went.
Well, December is here now, and our collective wonder is fresh out of the oven again.
But one important thing to note about this December is that the time is not only ticking toward the deadline for 2023 – Ontario employers should also be ready to meet their compliance deadlines.
Many of these compliance deadlines are set out in different statutes. The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (“AODA”) is one such piece of legislation that employers should be aware of.
What is the AODA?
The AODA is a piece of legislation that establishes accessibility standards in Ontario and imposes accessibility deadlines based on the size and nature of the particular organization through its Integrated Accessibility Standards.
You may be wondering, what is the AODA December 31, 2023 requirement?
The AODA requires employers within Ontario with 20 or more employees to file their Accessibility Compliance Reporting Form (the “Compliance Report”) by December 31, 2023. This requirement applies every three years.
Now, this does not mean that employers with less than 20 employees do not have AODA obligations. While such employers are not required to file their Compliance Report by December 31, 2023, there are other requirements.
Employers would be wise to download the Compliance Report here in order to determine whether the organization has any compliance gaps. Employers must certify in the Compliance Report that all the required information they provided is accurate.
While employers are required to act now, they can take some time to plan how to resolve any compliance gaps over a longer period of time. Large employers in Ontario with over 50 employees should also be mindful of their obligation to develop a multi-year accessibility plan.
If you are an employer looking to meet your compliance requirements, we would be happy to assist you. We can also help employees with their employment law related needs, including but not limited to those relating to accessibility.
