Key Requirements for Manitoba Employers as of May 1, 2020 under The Accessibility for Manitobans Act
Author Erin Zorde has accepted an in-house position at Wellington-Altus Private Wealth,… Learn More
Authors:
published 04/23/2020
Author Erin Zorde has accepted an in-house position at Wellington-Altus Private Wealth, effective May 19, 2021. Anyone wishing to contact Erin should contact Lori Jantz, his former legal assistant at lori@tdslaw.com
What is The Accessibility for Manitobans Act?
The Accessibility for Manitobans Act (the “AMA”) was created by the Government of Manitoba in an effort to prevent and remove barriers that affect individuals with disabilities.
The AMA has been in effect since December 5, 2013. Since the enactment of the AMA, the Government of Manitoba has been developing and implementing mandatory accessibility standards, which address barriers for Manitobans in 5 key areas of daily living.
The 5 key areas which the AMA is aimed at addressing to ensure accessibility standards for Manitobans are as follows:
These requirements are being enacted in stages. The Government of Manitoba has currently enacted the first two of the five accessibility standards.
The Employment Accessibility Standard was enacted on May 1, 2019 under the AMA. Its purpose is to remove and prevent barriers that affect current and potential employees in Manitoba. The requirements of this standard will be phased in over a three year period, which commenced on the date of enactment.
Requirements for Employers Effective May 1, 2020
Importantly, on May 1, 2020, to ensure the safety of employees, all workplaces must have:
All Manitoba employers are required to review the individualized emergency response information provided to employees with disabilities when changes are made to the employee’s workplace, or if the employer makes changes to its general emergency response plans that may affect the employee’s response to a workplace emergency.
This requirement applies to full and part-time employees, apprentices and seasonal employees and all employers with one or more employees.
The Accessibility Manitoba website contains a variety of useful resources for employers to better understand accommodation and to assist in emergency planning for their workplaces. More information can be found here: http://accessibilitymb.ca/tools-resources.html
If you require assistance in preparing an emergency response plan for your workplace that complies with the AMA, either I or another member of our Labour and Employment practice group would be happy to assist.
[1] http://www.accessibilitymb.ca/accessibility-standards.html