The Employment Standards under the AODA and the Accessible Employment Standard under the Accessibility for Manitobans Act both require organizations to make employment processes and practices accessible to workers with disabilities. Moreover, both standards require many of the same processes and practices to ensure accessibility. However, there are many important differences between the standards. The third review of the AODA recommends that the Ontario government should coordinate with other provinces and the federal government to ensure that accessibility laws are consistent across Canada. Therefore, requirements in the AODA may one day change to align with mandates under the Accessibility for Manitobans Act. In this article, we will explore accessible employment policies in Ontario and Manitoba.
Accessible Employment Policies in Ontario and Manitoba
The AODA’s Employment Standards and the Accessible Employment Standard of the Accessibility for Manitobans Act (AMA) both require employers to alert workers about any organizational policies for supporting employees with disabilities. Both accessibility laws mandate the content of some required policies, such as written processes for creating and implementing:
- Individual accommodation plans
- Return to work plans
However, the AODA does not mandate other policies concerning accessibility. In other words, some employers may have few policies of support to share with workers.
Conversely, Manitoba employers must create and implement policies, practices, and measures for accommodating workers with disabilities, in addition to policies for individual accommodation and return to work. Moreover, public-sector organizations, and large private-sector organizations, must document these policies, practices, and measures in writing. Furthermore, these organizations must make their written policies available to the public, including in accessible formats upon request.
The Standard does not outline or provide examples of a policy, practice, or measure for accommodation. However, this requirement is similar to mandates for accessible customer service policies under Ontario and Manitoba’s customer service standards. Both these provincial mandates require organizations to have policies outlining how they will:
- Identify, remove, and prevent barriers that limit customers’ access to goods and services
- Respect customers with disabilities’ rights of equal opportunity to access goods and services
Organizations creating and implementing policies, practices, and measures for workplace accommodation in Manitoba may follow similar guidelines. For example, a policy could describe an organizational commitment to identify, remove, and prevent various barriers that limit access, such as:
- Information or communication barriers
- Organizational barriers
- Attitudinal barriers
- Technology barriers
- Physical barriers
In addition, organizations could establish guidelines for providing accessible workplace information, including emergency response information.
Collaboration could give both provinces the chance to strengthen their mandates on accessible employment policies.