ASC releases updated guidelines for accessibility standards

Accessibility Standards Canada (ASC) has released updated guidelines for employers to help meet the individual needs of workers in the workplace.

The organization has introduced a new section on accessibility support systems in the revised version of the CAN/ASC-1.1:2024 (REV-2025) – Employment standard, a National Standard of Canada approved by the Standards Council of Canada.

"The federal government is helping to even the playing field in workplaces across Canada," said Patty Hajdu, minister of jobs and families.

"The revised Accessibility Standards Canada publication released today supports organizations right across the country in bringing needed change to create more inclusive and accessible workplaces for all workers. Together with industry, we are building a fairer workforce fit for the scale of the challenges of our times and worthy of the ambition of every worker."

Accessibility standards

Under the new section, organisations are required to:

1. Review existing policies to ensure they align with accessibility objectives;
2. Develop policies that promote these objectives and comply with the requirements of this Standard;
3. Declare a commitment to achieving a barrier-free workplace and supporting the inclusion of workers with disabilities in all policies and practices;
4. Use an intersectional accessibility lens (see Annex C) to review and revise policies that may sustain barriers to employment; and
5. Consult with workers with diverse disabilities and unions in developing and revising employment policies and practices.

Also, employers must ensure that their policies address accessibility through identifying, removing, and preventing barriers across the following domains:

1. anti-discrimination (including anti-ableism);
2. pre-employment (e.g., recruitment, screening, interviewing, assessing, hiring, onboarding);
3. retention, career development, and job exit;
4. individual accessibility supports (accommodation), including devices and equipment;
5. performance management;
6. pay equity, in compliance with Clause 13.5;
7. individual and organisational training, learning, and development;
8. internal and accessible communications, including communication supports;
9. workplace emergency response;
10. support persons;
11. guide dogs and service dogs;
12. procurement;
13. maintenance;
    • preventative maintenance; and
    • cleaning.

Revised guidelines from ASC

The revised version also includes:

• updated language across several clauses
• a new section on culture, engagement, and education, outlining requirements to foster inclusive, respectful, and positive workplace cultures; and
• three informative annexes providing background on the standard, context on lived experience with disability, and practical integration guidance.

"Our employment standard reflects our vision for accessible and equitable workplaces across Canada," said Dino Zuppa, CEO of ASC. "It was developed by people with disabilities, for people with disabilities who know best the needs of the community. The revised edition provides organizations with a full set of requirements for creating a work environment where every employee can thrive and contribute to their full potential. As a wide-ranging and inclusive standard, it’s a model for what accessible employment should look like, both in Canada and around the world."

ASC first published the CAN/ASC-1.1:2024 – Employment standard in December of 2024. 

Accessible Canada Act

The Accessible Canada Act (ACA), which came into force in 2019, established the ASC to create, review and revise accessibility standards, and to lead research, to support society reach the highest level of accessibility and inclusion for all Canadians.

The ACA outlines ASC’s responsibilities to help achieve a Canada without barriers by January 1, 2040, including:

• the development and revision of accessibility standards;
• the recommendation of accessibility standards to the Minister;
• the provision of information, products and services in relation to the accessibility standards that it has developed or revised;
• the promotion, support and conduct of research into the identification and removal of barriers and the prevention of new barriers; and
• the dissemination of information, including information about best practices, in relation to the identification and removal of barriers and the prevention of new barriers.

The 2024 employment standard from Accessibility Standards Canada is about creating a “culture of change” for all stages of the employment lifecycle, Maureen Haan, director of the Accessibility Standards Canada Board of Directors, previously told HRD.