Reflecting on 2012

Who can believe that December is already here? 2012 seems to have come and gone in the blink of an eye. As we close the door on this year, let's take a moment to reflect on some of the noteworthy changes and news items that impacted us within the HR world.

WSIB News in 2012

Elizabeth Witmer

Changes at the top

Amid some controversy, the McGuinty Liberals appointed long-time Conservative MPP Elizabeth Witmer (Waterloo North) to replace Steve Mahoney as Chair of the WSIB in April.

Witmer has stated that she has plans to "modernize" the organization. To learn more about her vision, click here.

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Opening the floodgates

A noteworthy WSIAT decision regarding stress claims early in 2012 expanded the scope of entitlement for traumatic mental stress and reversed the historical requirement of a "physical threat."

Many wonder if this will lead to a dramatic increase in mental health claims. Check out Clear Path's blog post on this topic.

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Employer cost increases

In order to reduce its approximately $14.2B unfunded liability, the WSIB continues to implement changes that often lead to increased costs for employers.

The previously announced expansion of the NEER window to 4 years came into effect on this year's NEER statements and employer premium rates were increased an average of 2.0% for 2012 and another 2.5% for 2013.

NEER Expected Cost Factors were reduced on December 2011 quarterly statements. This translated into lower rebates for the 2011 accident year and a number of firms facing surcharges due to the change in the NEER claim cost calculation. Check out our blog for more details.

In an unusual step, the WSIB adjusted historical reserve factors just prior to the release of September 2012 NEER statements. Many companies complained that this impacted their forecasted costs for the year.

Accessibility in 2012

​AODA Customer Service Standard

The Ontario government is implementing legislation known as the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) with the intention of making the province fully accessible by 2025.

On January 1st, the AODA Customer Service Standard, the first of the five original pieces of the staggered legislation, came into effect for most Ontario private sector businesses (it came into effect in the public sector two years earlier). Clear Path can help your company get compliant if you haven't yet done so. Click here to learn about our AODA DIY package.

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Deadline

By December 31st, if you have 20 or more employees, you must file your Customer Service Accessibility Compliance Report to inform the Ministry that you have met the requirements of the Customer Service Standard.

Integrated Accessibility Standard Regulation (IAR)

​Originally the Ontario government had five separate "standards" to be implemented separately as part of the AODA. Changing course in 2011, they decided to combine three of them (Employment Standard, Information & Communications Standard, and Transportation Standard) into the AODA Integrated Accessibility Standard Regulation.

Time frame implementation of IAR

​One aspect of the Information & Communications Standard, namely that emergency procedures and public safety information be accessible to people with disabilities, came into effect as of Jan. 1, 2012.

• Private sector businesses with more than 50 employees: Compliance deadlines begin in 2014 for Information & Communications Standard and 2015 for Employment Standard. See page 14 of this guide for specific details.
• Small private sector businesses (under 50 employees): Compliance deadlines for Information & Communications Standard begin in 2015 while Employment Standard deadlines begin in 2017. Find more details on page 15 of this guide.

First steps towards AODA Built Environment Standard

​The fifth and final part of the original five AODA standards is the Built Environment Standard. For many, this standard is the most daunting and controversial since it may lead to battles over accessibility versus historically significant buildings. 

As a first step towards this new standard, the Ontario government released a draft version of the AODA Built Environment Standard for "Public Spaces" for review and consultation between August-September 2012.  

Public spaces are defined in the draft as:

• Recreational trails and beach access routes
• Outdoor public use eating areas
• Outdoor play spaces
• Exterior paths or travel
• Accessible parking
• Service counters, fixed queuing guides and waiting areas

It is expected that much of draft will survive to the final version. The government has proposed compliance dates of 2017 for large businesses and 2018 for small businesses (less than 50 employees).

It is noteworthy to mention that many of the requirements include a general exception where it is not practicable to comply because of existing physical or site constraints that prohibit modification. There are also exceptions for spaces designated as having cultural or national historical significance. Click here to learn more.

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AODA in the news

Two recent stories demonstrate why having a clear understanding of the AODA legislation is so important:

• Restaurant riles Stouffville couple denied entry
• City says no more free transit for blind, disabled

Social media in 2012

One hot-topic issue from 2012 has been employee use of social media. Our blog Social Media Policy - If You Don't Have One Get One touches on a few stories that appeared in newspapers this past year such as:

• Ontario man fired for Facebook posts about Amanda Todd

• Barrow County high school teacher forced to resign because of photos posted on Facebook
• Teacher suspended for Facebook comments about kindergarteners

One important lesson that we have learned after a year of stories such as the ones above, is the importance of implementing policy in your workplace surrounding social media. This hot topic is one we will cover in our Employee Policy Manual learning session held in September 2013. Visit our website for more information.

Safety & Workwell in 2012

​New mandatory Health and Safety at Work Poster was launched in the fall

With Ontario's continuing efforts toward eliminating workplace injuries, the Minister of Labour created a new Prevention Council. The council will advise the Minister of Labour on a variety of health and safety issues, and support the efforts of Ontario's Chief Prevention Officer.

Ontario launched a four-month blitz to ensure students and new workers were safe and didn't get injured while working

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Other HR developments in 2012

• Ongoing conflict between Ontario public school teachers and the government over Bill 115
• The Supreme Court ruled employees have only limited right to privacy on work computers, reminding us that employee policy surrounding technology is extremely important
• Human Rights Code was amended to include two new grounds of discrimination; gender identity and gender expression

Clear Path news in 2012

​This past year was wonderful for Clear Path! Some highlights from 2012:

• We were chosen to speak on two topics at the 2012 HRPA Conference in Toronto
• We moved into our new office at 295 Thompson Drive, Cambridge and celebrated with a Customer Appreciation Event and Open House on November 30th
• We expanded our team to include several new team members (Kelly Auld, Margaret Sullivan Williams, Tricia Vogel, Josie Martiniello, and Allie Black)

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Looking forward to 2013

Although we can't predict the future of the HR world, or forecast what stories will pop up in the news, we can share with you our 2013 learning session schedule.  Why not brush up on your WSIB knowledge, or learn something new about AODA legislation? Whatever you decide, we hope that you will check out our training sessions and join us in embracing knowledge as a powerful tool for the workplace in 2013!

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We'd love to connect with you!