Under Ontario’s Accessibility for Ontarians With Disabilities Act (“AODA”), there are some upcoming deadlines CKL businesses may need to be aware of:
Accessible Websites Required for 2021
Particularly timely with so many of us working, shopping and generally living online is the obligation to make websites accessible. That is set to be in force on the first day of 2021 for private and non-profit organizations with fifty or more employees, as well as all public-sector organizations.
Specifically, this requirement means that all public websites and web content posted after January 1, 2012 must meet WCAG 2.0 Level AA other than criteria 1.2.4 (live captions) and 1.2.5 (pre-recorded audio descriptions).
For guidance on how to make your website and web content accessible so as be compliant, check out this guide.
Compliance Reports due December 31, 2020 June 30, 2021
The deadline to file the 2020 Accessibility Compliance Report, which was the end of this year, has been deferred to the end of June 2021.
The Accessibility Compliance Report is mandatory and confirms that an organization has met its accessibility requirements under the AODA. For more guidance on how to complete it, check out this guide provided by the government. You can download the form here.
The report is required for businesses or non-profit organizations with 20 or more employees, as well as designated public-sector organizations. Ignoring this requirement is risky, as failure to file the report on time can result in financial penalties.
Note that if your circumstances change, you are expected to update your profile. According to the guidelines, if you have a change in:
- Address
- Primary contact information
- Number of employees
- Status (for example is no longer in business or has fewer than 20 employees)
You can use this form to update your organization’s profile.
