Companies under pressure to comply with Ontario’s new website accessibility rules

Companies with at least 50 employees that do business in Ontario face a June 30 deadline to confirm they are complying with new standards for making websites accessible for people with disabilities.

All private-sector and not-for-profit organizations with more than 50 employees could be fined for failing to ensure their website complies with rules that took effect in January.

The Ford government has given until the end of this month for organizations to self-report on their compliance with the accessibility law.

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act provides for enforcing compliance with an escalating range of fines that can reach $100,000 per day.

The law originally focused on physical barriers but more recently adopted an international standard for accessible websites and digital communications.

Ontario’s law has been described as the toughest in Canada when it comes to digital communications but years behind what’s in place in the United States.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2021.

The Canadian Press

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