AS:023 AODA: Ready to Report

Intro 0:02

Welcome to the accessibility solutions podcast hosted by Linda hunt, an award winning accessibility consultant, speaker and author. With over 30 years experience in senior management roles and a deep passion for creating inclusive environments. Linda brings us unmatched expertise and credibility to our discussions join us as they explore transformative power of accessibility and inclusion in today's world. Through captivating conversations, Linda shares her wealth of knowledge provides practical solutions and sheds light on the latest trends and advancements in the field. Whether you're a business owner or disability advocate, or simply curious about the world of accessibility, this podcast is your go to resource. Get ready to unlock new perspectives, break down barriers and embark on a journey of empowerment. Are you ready to create a more inclusive world? Well, let's begin. Welcome to the accessibility solutions podcast.

Linda 1:02

Hello, everyone, and thanks for joining us this week. This week I want to talk about AODA reporting and whether you and or your business are ready to report. The AODA reporting deadline is December 31, 20 25 which means we have 60 days in order to get ready to report. If you have a business that has 20 to 49 employees, then you have compliance regulations that you must have implemented, then you must be able to report on your implementation of the regulations under the AODA legislation. If you have a business with more than 50 employees, then you to have significant compliance regulations that you must be in compliance with the importance of being in compliance with AODA legislation is not only that, it shows that you're committed to the purpose of AODA regulation, which is to remove barriers for persons with disabilities and make the province of Ontario fully accessible by 20 25, which is just two short years away. But there are also fines that are associated with not being in compliance. And those fines can be as much as $50,000 a day for a business or $100,000 a day for a corporation. The other risk that you face if you are not compliant with AODA legislation is that an individual can file a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission regarding your inability to deliver goods and services to them in a way that you can deliver to anyone that may not have a disability. So the Ontario Human Rights Commission is the mechanism that a person with a disability has to file a complaint under AODA legislation. So there are two areas that you are at risk, if you are not AODA compliant. The first one being fines under the AODA and the second one being at risk of having an Ontario Human Rights complaint filed against you and your company. And again, the fines are significant 50,000 to $100,000 per day, the cost of funding yourself against an Ontario Human Rights Complaint can be very significant for you and your business as well. And while we talk about the need to be compliant, both from the standpoint of not being at risk of either fines, or Ontario Human Rights Complaint, the other reason that you want to be fully compliant is that business accessibility is good for business, and that for reasons that we've just discussed in previous episodes of our podcast, that means your business is accessible. And it's open to that 22% of the population that we've discussed, that is living with some form of disability. So for that reason, being compliant is not only good for business, it's also the law. And we want to make sure that everyone out there, if you're a business, that you're compliant with the legislation so that it's good for your business, it's good for the economy, but it also is going to mitigate the risks that you have if you're not compliant. Now, I'm happy to announce that we will be offering starting in mid November, an AODA ready to report training, watch for our social platforms. And that training will be for either business owners, executives or HR managers that have more than 20 employees where we're going to go through the AODA reporting requirements that you are responsible for to ensure that you are able to be AODA compliant and ready to report on December 31. I'm gonna wrap up their short little podcast but lots of interesting things to come in terms of our AODA ready to report training. And so we hope that we will have you join us for that and until next time, that's me signing off. And again, thank you so much for tuning in. Cheers

Outro 4:38

Thank you for joining us on The Accessibility Solutions podcast hosted by Linda Hines. We hope these discussions have inspired you and provided valuable insights into the world of accessibility and inclusion. If you're ready to take the next steps in creating an accessible and inclusive environment. We invite you to book a personalized accessibility solutions consultation with Linda as an experienced accessibility consultant Lynda will work closely with you to develop innovative solutions tailored to your unique needs and challenges. Together you'll navigate the complexities of accessibility right Relations, explore inclusive design principles and implement practical strategies to ensure equal access for all. Don't miss this opportunity to make a real difference visit our website at solutions for accessibility.com. And that's the number four so solutions for accessibility.com scheduling a consultation today let's transform your space into an inclusive and welcoming environment for everyone. Thanks again for listening to the accessibility solutions podcast. Stay tuned for more empowering episodes as we continue our journey towards a more accessible world.