1. Disability & Human Rights
AODA Integrated Standards

2. What is a Disability?
“Disability” covers a broad range of conditions, some visible and some not.
A disability may have been present from birth, caused by an accident, or developed over time.
There are physical, mental and learning disabilities, mental disorders, hearing or vision disabilities, epilepsy, drug and alcohol dependencies, environmental sensitivities and other conditions.

3. Ontario Human Rights Code
The Ontario Human Rights Code (the Code) provides for equal rights and opportunities, and freedom from discrimination.
In the workplace, employees with disabilities are entitled to the same opportunities and benefits as people without disabilities.
In some cases employees may need special arrangements or accommodations so they can do their job duties.

4. Ontario Human Rights Code
The Code protects people from discrimination because of past, present and perceived disabilities.
Example: person who faces discrimination because they are a recovered alcoholic.
Example: person whose condition does not limit their workplace capabilities but who is believed to be a greater risk of being able to do less in the future.
The Code is not meant to punish; when discrimination happens, the goal is to fix the situation to provide equal opportunity for the person with a disability.
The Code promotes educating and working with organizations to make changes that prevent discrimination and harassment.

5. The Ontario Human Rights Code
The Code has primacy. This means that Ontario laws (with a few exceptions) have to follow the Code. Its goal is to provide for equal rights so as to create a climate of respect where everyone feels part of the community and can contribute fully.
The Code says people with disabilities must be free from discrimination where they work, live, and receive services, and their needs must be accommodated.

6. AODA & The Code
The Code and AODA are both provincial laws and both use the same definition of disability.
The AODA sets accessibility standards that organizations must meet. The human rights principles of the Code help to inform and guide how AODA standards are to be met.
The AODA standards apply to all organizations (public, private and not-for- profit) with one (1) or more employee in Ontario. The Code applies to all Ontario organizations regardless of type and size.

7. Barriers
Persons with disabilities face many kinds of barriers everyday. These can be physical, attitudinal or systemic.
Attitude – the way people think or behave.
Architectural or structural – design elements of buildings – examples stairs vs. ramps, widths of doorways/hallways etc.
Systemic – policies and procedures may restrict individuals with disabilities.

8. Barriers
Employers, unions, landlords and service providers should conduct an accessibility review of their facilities, services and procedures to see what barriers exist. They should then make a plan to begin to remove the barriers.
The best way to prevent barriers is to plan inclusively – when planning new facilities, buying computer systems/equipment, setting up policies and procedures – make sure to avoid creating new barriers for people with disabilities.

9. Barriers Barriers are not just physical.
Prevent ‘ableism’ – attitudes in society that devalue and limit the potential of persons with disabilities.

10. Duty to Accommodate
Unions, employers, landlords and service providers have a legal duty to accommodate persons with disabilities.
The goal of accommodation is to allow people with disabilities to equally benefit from and take part in services, housing or the workplace.

11. Accommodation is a Shared Responsibility
Everyone involved – including the person asking for accommodation – must work together, exchange relevant information and look for accommodation solutions together.
No set formula – need to consider individual needs each time a person asks to be accommodated. A solution for one person may not work for someone else.

12. Examples of Accommodation
Increased flexibility in work hours or break times.
Providing reading material in alternative formats including digitized text, braille or large print.
Providing sign language interpreters or real time captioning for person who are deaf, deafened or hard of hearing.
Putting automatic entry doors.
Changing job duties, retraining or assigning a person to another job.

13. Accommodation Responsibilities
As a person with a disability:
Tell employer, union, landlord or service provider what disability-related needs are related to job duties, tenancy or services being provided.
Provide supporting information about disability- related needs including medical or other expert opinions where needed.
Take part in looking at possible accommodation solutions.

14. Accommodation Responsibilities
As an employer, union, landlord or service provider:
Accept request for accommodation from employees, tenants and clients in good faith.
Ask only for information needed to provide the accommodation.
Take active role in looking for accommodation solutions that meet individual needs.
Act promptly.
Respect the dignity of person asking for accommodation, keep information confidential.
Cover costs of accommodations.
For example – only need to know that an employee’s vision loss prevents them from using printed material, but wouldn’t need to know that vision loss is a result of diabetes.

15. Undue Hardship
Undue hardship is the legal limit of the duty to accommodate. It refers to situations where severe negative effects outweigh the benefit of providing accommodation.
There are three factors used to determine undue hardship:
Costs - Must be significant!
External funding sources.
Health and safety considerations.
Costs. Renovating an older building to make it accessible may be too costly for a small business. If the business must reduce staff or hours to provide the accommodation, then it may be able to claim undue hardship.
External funding sources - Are there external funding sources, such as grants or tax breaks, to reduce the accommodation costs?
Health and safety considerations. For example, there may be undue hardship if the accommodation violates occupational health and safety regulations. Employers must try to keep all workers safe and still accommodate the needs of the worker with a disability

16. Applying Human Rights Principles
The Code and AODA accessibility standards are laws that work together to promote equality and accessibility in Ontario.
For Example - the Employment Standard of the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation builds on these requirements; employers and unions must consider disability-related accommodation requests and provide timely accommodation, from recruiting and hiring through to retirement or dismissal.

17. Compliance & Enforcement
Ontario has three organizations in the human rights system:
The Ontario Human Rights Commission - provides policies, guidelines and other information on Code grounds, including disability and the duty to accommodate,
The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario - hears discrimination claims (called applications) on any Code ground. This includes claims from individuals who believe an organization or person has failed to accommodate disability-related needs
The Human Rights Legal Support Centre - helps people through the human rights process, such as completing an application or claim to the Tribunal.

18. http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/learning/working- together-code-and-aoda
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