For your convenience, the letter of transmittal from the Chair, Standards Development Committee to the Minister of Community and Social Services is available in PDF, Word and HTML formats.
September 22, 2009.
The Honourable Madeleine Meilleur
Minister of Community and Social Services
80 Grosvenor Street, 6th Floor
Toronto, Ontario
M7A 1E9
Dear Minister Meilleur:
On behalf of the Employment Accessibility Standards Development Committee (EA-SDC), I am pleased to submit for your consideration the Final Proposed Employment Accessibility Standard. I am pleased to inform you that all clauses of the final proposed standard and all proposed timelines were approved by the required 75% of voting members by the Committee on August 12, 2009.
The EA-SDC produced this standard after 10 meetings of thoughtful deliberation and hard work by its members. The Committee considered several sources of information in the development of this standard. It is particularly thankful to the many stakeholders who provided comment and input during the public review process for the initial proposed standard earlier this year. The Committee was supported in its efforts by the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario and the Canadian Standards Association. I would like to take this opportunity to thank both of these organizations for the support they provided to the EA-SDC, which was indispensable in reaching a successful conclusion.
The Final Proposed Standard provides detailed content and timelines for implementation. During its journey, the EA-SDC did identify some points that it wanted me to communicate. Some of these points are clarifications; others relate to conveying their thoughts for the implementation of the standard and the review of the standard in 5 years.
- The EA-SDC attempted to strike a balance between identifying clear requirements in its standard, while still allowing employers flexibility in choosing how they will go about implementing and complying with its provisions.
- The EA-SDC understood its terms of reference. It was careful to set requirements that fall within paid employment. The Committee wishes to stress that full employment accessibility for persons with disabilities can only be achieved if attention is also paid to barriers that exist beyond the arena of paid employment. It identified barriers preventing access to positions in the volunteer sector and to accessibility in taking tests for skilled trades and in sitting examinations for the professions. It also noted the importance of addressing barriers in the health sector that are faced by persons with disabilities. The EA-SDC recommends that these areas of interest for persons with disabilities be addressed by the government.
- This standard was developed with the awareness that employers already are prohibited by the Ontario Human Rights Code from discriminating in employment against Ontarians with disabilities. The EA-SDC views the proposed standard as complementary to and building on the Human Rights Code. This standard should assist employers to take concrete, consistent and pro-active steps to make their workplaces more accessible, so that there will be less frequent need for individual job applicants or employees to resort to the human rights complaints process.
- The EA-SDC has submitted proposed standards respecting accessibility issues across all phases and aspects of the employment life cycle, from recruitment to separation or termination. It will be the responsibility of a future standards development committee to determine if additional components should be added to address a particular phase or aspect of the employment life cycle in the standard. For example, this standard proposes that job information address the identification of essential duties. A future standard may require that the functional demands of a job be added to the job information requirement.
- The EA-SDC had developed a working glossary in order to have a consistency in its discussions. Some of these terms are included in the standard; other terms are not specifically mentioned in the standard. I recommend that the following terms from the working glossary be conveyed for consistency if considering the concepts within the standard. Please convey the following terms:
Essential Skills - An essential skill is fundamental to carrying out the most important functions of a job. Without these skills, learned or innate, the job holder will not be able to achieve the overall job objective/s.
Essential Qualifications – An essential qualification is a credential that is widely accepted by either employers, trade unions, professional occupational associations or regulatory bodies as necessary for an employee to competently perform a particular job.
Functional Demands –an analysis of both the physical and non-physical requirements to perform the essential duties of a job. Functional demands that include decision-making, writing and interactions, are examples of non-physical functional demands.
Individual Adaptations - The redesign of tools, machines, workstations and the work environment to an individual’s needs. It may also include adjustments in work organization, work schedules, sequences of work and in breaking down work tasks to their basic elements. (International Labour Office Geneva)
Job Analysis - Job analysis is a detailed list of the duties that a particular job involves and the skills required. It indicates what the worker has to do, how he or she has to do it, why he or she has to do it, and what skill is involved in doing it. The analysis can also include facts about tools used, and machines operated. (International Labour Office Geneva). This is a process of gathering the right information to be able to complete a job description.
Procurement & Outsourcing - The practice of contracting with outside ven¬dors to handle specified functions on a permanent basis. (Human Resources Professionals Association)
- The EA-SDC devoted much thought and discussion to the appropriate number and composition of classes of employers to propose for the standard. I did want to provide a few points of clarification.
Comments received during public review helped to inform the committee. There were two points which I want to identify. First, the view was expressed that smaller public sector organisations should be allowed more time to comply than large ones. Secondly, the class for small private/non-profit employers should have a higher cut off (in terms of number of employees) than was in the initial proposed standard.
There was also consensus around the EA-SDC table that small private employers should be obligated, and that their requirements should be practical and “action-oriented” without significantly impacting their paperwork burden.
The EA-SDC is also proposing that the Ontario Public Service, as the province’s largest employer that is funded by all Ontarians, should be out front and leading by example in implementing this standard.
- The EA-SDC carefully reviewed the updated list of designated provincial agencies from Schedule 1 of the Customer Service regulation. These agencies are included as part of the public sector classes that would be required to comply with some requirements ahead of other private employers of comparable size. If an agency does not appear on the list, then it would be considered in the private sector. The EA-SDC recognizes that altering this list of designated provincial agencies may have a far reaching impact. Nevertheless, the EA-SDC urges the government to review the list and consider expanding this Schedule 1. As an example, it seems logical that Hydro One and Ontario Power Generation would be considered as public sector; however, they are not on the list and therefore would be considered as private sector.
- The EA-SDC recognized that the standard will require the adoption or development of employer specific materials. The EA-SDC recommends that the government consider how it might assist in the development of generic materials for employers. The provision of compliance support and tools for use by employers across the province will be crucial for successful implementation of the employment accessibility standard. It is important for these tools, guides and templates (such as sample policies) to be provided to obligated organizations well in advance of when they are required to be in compliance with this proposed standard.
- It is also important to note that in developing this standard the Committee bore in mind the broad definition of disability found in the AODA (which originates in the Human Rights Code). This definition includes invisible conditions such as cognitive or learning disabilities. EA-SDC members are aware that persons with invisible or non-evident disabilities often encounter difficulty having their accessibility needs recognized and addressed by others, both in the workplace and elsewhere, and therefore we wish to draw to your attention the importance of producing and communicating compliance support and information materials for employers and the general public on the removal and prevention of barriers to employment for Ontarians with these disabilities.
- The EA-SDC recognizes that broad access to job recruitment information is a barrier. It recommends that the Government consider what steps it could take to facilitate building linkages between employers across the province and individual job seekers with disabilities, and those agencies and organizations that assist them in securing employment, including organized labour. The province could potentially play an important role in “levelling the playing field” so that employers in all regions of Ontario have mechanisms by which to transmit their job recruitment information to qualified candidates with disabilities.
- The EA-SDC is aware that there is still much to be done in fostering a “culture shift” throughout the province whereby citizens and organizations recognize the importance of accessibility to making this province a more attractive society for all who live here now, and to which persons and businesses from other places will be eager to re-locate. The Province is well positioned to play a key role in promoting awareness of the benefits to all Ontarians, not just persons with disabilities, of adopting accessible employment practices. We urge the Government to expand its efforts in raising public awareness in this area. The reality is that everyone wins by tapping into the potential of qualified Ontarians with disabilities to expand and enrich the labour market of this province.
- The EA-SDC appreciates the inter-relationship of the employment accessibility standard with other proposed AODA standards. The customer service standard, already enacted into regulation, as well as the other proposed standards for transportation, information and communications, and the built environment, which are at various stages of development, will all contribute to the removal of barriers so that qualified individuals with disabilities will have access to employment opportunities. We urge the government to continue to give careful consideration to the best means of implementing the package of standards in a manner that take into account the cumulative impact of the standards on obligated organizations.
In closing, I would like to thank you for providing me with the opportunity to chair this Committee. It was a privilege to work with my committee colleagues on this project, and I hope that our efforts will further the achievement of employment accessibility in Ontario. Please let me know whether I can be of any further assistance to you.
Sincerely
Robert Kosnik, MD
Chair, AODA Employment Accessibility
Standards Development Committee