Ontario Wants Web Accessibility by 2025 with AODA

Accessibility Standards

Accessibility standards are laws that governments, businesses, non-profits, and public sector organizations must follow to become more accessible. The section of the law that applies to websites is the Information and Communication Standard.

By law, you must make all public websites accessible. The organization that controls the website must meet the accessibility requirements.

The critical thing to know about the AODA is that it officially went into effect on June 30th, 2021. And not complying with it might put you at risk of $100,000 for each day of non-compliance. The WCAG 2.0 standard is used to measure compliance.

All registered businesses are required to follow and comply with the law.

The legislation is part of the Government of Ontario’s vision to make all businesses and public sector organizations inclusive and accessible for everyone by the deadline of 2025.

Businesses with 20 or more employees

Businesses and non-profits with 20 or more employees must file an accessibility compliance report. Filing your report is a legal obligation under the AODA. The first deadline was June 30, 2021. The next reporting deadline is December 31, 2023. The 2023 Accessibility Compliance Report will not be available until early 2023, so now is a great time to ensure your website is accessible and meets the WCAG standards.

Companies with more than 49 employees have additional responsibilities.

How to Count Your Employees?

Employees should be counted if they are:

• • full-time employees
  • part-time employees
  • seasonal employees
  • contract workers

Employees that can be excluded are:

• • employees outside Ontario
  • volunteers
  • independent contractors

If you have fewer than 20 employees

You are still required to create policies to achieve accessibility goals, but you are not required to document these policies.

Penalties for non-compliance

The AODA allows the government to set monetary penalties to enforce compliance with accessibility standards. The maximum penalties under the AODA include the following:

• A guilty corporation or organization can be fined up to $100,000 daily.
• Directors and officers of a corporation or a guilty organization can be fined up to $50,000 daily.
• A person and unincorporated organizations that are guilty of a major offence under this Act can be fined up to $50,000 dollars for each day the violation continues
  

According to current enforcement guidelines, businesses face more significant fines for their first violations, and these penalties can apply every day that the violation continues.

With that said, most organizations that fail to comply with the law will not face the maximum penalties; the exact fines will vary depending on the impact of the violation and the company’s history.

Random Audits

Enforcement isn’t based on complaints. The government wants to encourage education and outreach of issues surrounding digital accessibility. However, the government will audit select companies based on risks and the submitted accessibility report. Companies that fail to submit a report are much more likely to be audited. The government will also perform random audits on fully compliant companies.

When an organization is found to be non-compliant, it can negotiate a Return to Compliance Plan that details the commitments to bring the service up to par. Further failures will involve an inspector ad penalties depending on the severity of the fault.

To mitigate both risk and financial penalty exposure, organizations should proactively comply with the AODA.