Accessibility Standards Canada, the governmental department created under the federal Accessible Canada Act ("ACA"), has published the first edition of a standard on accessible employment, "CAN-ASC 1.1 Standard on employment" (the "Draft Employment Standard") for public review and feedback.

The Draft Employment Standard is intended to develop a documented and systematic approach to developing, implementing, and maintaining accessible and inclusive workplaces in accordance with the ACA. Once finalized, the Standard will be submitted to the federal Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities. While initially compliance would be voluntary, if adopted by regulation by the Minister, the Draft Employment Standard would become binding on all federally-regulated employers.

For anyone catching up on federal accessibility legislation, we previously wrote about the ACA, the Accessible Canada Regulations and the requirement to publish Accessibility Plans. 

Key Features of the Draft Employment Standard

The fundamental goal of the Draft Employment Standard is to reduce work-related barriers to accessibility caused by individuals and systems and to achieve the requirements of the ACA, those being a work environment that is accessible, inclusive, and barrier- and discrimination-free.

The Draft Employment Standard aims to assist persons with disabilities in all phases of the employment life cycle, including during recruitment, hiring, onboarding, retention, promotion and career development, performance management, and separation. The Standard is designed to encourage employers to create workplaces that are "inclusive and accessible by design".

The requirements of the Draft Employment Standard is broken into five sections. Below, we have highlighted the most notable aspects of each section.

Section 1: Structural Support, Policy and Leadership

  • Accessibility Strategy: Standards for an organization to develop an accessibility strategy, which must include (a) measurable objectives, (b) supporting policies, and (c) clear roles and responsibilities of key workplace parties.
  • Accessibility Policy: Standards in respect of the development, publication and contents of an organization's accessibility policy. In accordance with the Draft Employment Standard, accessibility policies should be appropriate for an organization's purpose and size and should:
    • include a commitment to providing an accessible workplace by identifying, preventing and removing barriers to accessibility;
    • provide a framework for setting accessibility objectives;
    • commit to fulfilling legal requirements and other requirements related to accessibility; and
    • identify a process for measuring and evaluating progress towards objectives.
  • Access to Information: Standards for identifying, removing, and preventing barriers to accessing information, including by providing documents and communications in an accessible format.
  • Accessibility of Communications: Standards for improving the accessibility of communications, including by providing electronic communications in a format that meets the current requirement for Level AA conformance of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, published by the World Wide Web Consortium.
  • Information Technology: Standards for organizations to identify, remove and prevent barriers to accessibility in information technology tools, solutions and equipment. The Draft Employment Standard includes commitments specific to human resource information systems and applicant tracking systems.

Section 2: Culture, Engagement and Education

  • Workplace Culture: Standards designed to assist in creating a disability-inclusive workplace culture by, among other things, communication strategies and efforts that provide accessible communications, using inclusive language, and eliminating discrimination.
  • Training: Standards for providing workplace training on disability-related issues to all workplace parties, including: (a) leadership training focusing on attitudinal bias, conscious and unconscious bias, ableist attitudes, and prejudices; (b) organizational training focusing on issues that impact the work environment such as, among other things, the duty to accommodate, the elimination and prevention of workplace barriers, and allyship and bystander intervention.

Section 3: Recruitment, Hiring and Onboarding

  • Recruitment: Standards for ensuring inclusion in recruitment procedures and job advertisements by, for example, publicizing job vacancies in accessible formats, providing for accommodation throughout the recruitment process, and providing recruitment materials in an accessible format. The Draft Employment Standard also contains commitments for interviewing candidates, including by specifying that at least two individuals conduct the interview (one from the requesting department and one from human resources familiar with diversity, equity and inclusion practices).
  • Hiring and Onboarding: Standards for ensuring the hiring and onboarding process are accessible, including by notifying new employees of the organization's policies for accommodating workers, providing the employee with a support person, if necessary, and providing essential work-related information in an accessible format.

Section 4: Retention and Career Development

  • Retention:  Standards with respect to retaining persons with disabilities in the organization, including by setting representation targets, and reviewing the organization's policies at least every three years in consultation with persons with disabilities.
  • Promotion and Career Development: Standards with respect to promotion and career development, including ensuring that the criteria for career development and promotions do not disadvantage persons with disabilities.

Section 5: Work Disability Management, Accommodation, Stay at Work and Return to Work

  • Work Disability Management System: Standards regarding the creation of a work disability management system, including the development of policies to provide strategic direction to the organization. The Draft Employment Standard specifies that the policies must minimize the need or the disclosure of personal medical information, and that medical information be used to support the need for accommodation rather than deny it.
  • Individual Accommodation Policy and Process: Standards regarding the creation of an individualized accommodation policy and accompanying process. It includes a number of very specific requirements, including that employers cover the cost of obtaining any medical documentation it requests and any associated lost time, and that workers be given access to accommodations non-contingent on medical documentation.
  • Return to Work Policy: Standards regarding the development of a formal return to work policy and process.

Consultation Process

The Draft Employment Standard is currently open for public review. Accessibility Standards Canada is seeking feedback and suggestions on the Draft Employment Standard, including editorial changes, technical changes (such as dimensions or application of the Draft Employment Standard), and general comments on the Draft Employment Standard (including the identification of anything missing).

Accessibility Standards Canada has stated that they are especially interested in receiving feedback from individuals with lived experience of disability, stakeholders, government organizations and anyone who would use or benefit from the Draft Employment Standard.

Suggestions may be submitted through the Accessibility Standards Canada website1  or by PDF form, and the window for feedback will remain open until October 31, 2023 at 3:00 pm EST.

Next Steps

We will continue to monitor the progress of the Draft Employment Standard and the other standards currently under development (more details of which are available on the Accessibility Standards Canada website).

The requirements of the ACA are complex. If you have any questions regarding the ACA or would like to know more about the potential impact of the Draft Employment Standard, please contact the authors of this bulletin or your regular Fasken lawyer.

Footnote

1. Summary and Feedback Forms - CAN-ASC-1.1 Standard on Employment: Public Review Draft

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.