Accessibility

Surplus Furniture and Mattress Warehouse Multi-Year Accessibility Plan

Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), Updated December 2023.

Application

This Multi-Year Accessibility Plan pertains to Surplus Furniture operations to which AODA applies.

Introduction and statement of commitment (“AODA”)

Surplus Furniture is committed to treating all people in a way that allows them to maintain their dignity and independence. We believe in integration and equal opportunity. We are committed to meeting the needs of people with disabilities in a timely manner and will do so by preventing and removing barriers to accessibility and meeting accessibility requirements under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (“AODA”).

This Multi-Year Accessibility Plan outlines the policies and actions that Surplus Furniture has put in place to improve opportunities for people with disabilities.

In accordance with the requirements set out in AODA’s Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulations (the “IASRs”), Surplus Furniture has:

• Established, reviewed, and updated this plan in consultation with persons with disabilities
• Posted this plan on the appropriate corporate websites
• Reported, as required, on the appropriate corporate websites on the progress of the implementation of this plan
• Provided this plan in an accessible format, upon request; and
• Regularly reviewed and updated this plan at least once every 5 years.

Accessibility plan for Surplus Furniture

Accessibility standards for customer service

Commitment: Surplus Furniture is committed to excellence in serving all customers, including persons with disabilities, and it will carry out its functions in a manner which delivers an accessible customer service experience.

Surplus Furniture is committed to providing its goods and services in a way that respects the dignity and independence of persons with disabilities. This commitment will be integrated wherever possible and will ensure that persons with disabilities will benefit from the same services, in the same place and in a similar way as other customers.

Action taken: The following measures have been implemented by Surplus Furniture:

• Ensuring all persons who, on behalf of Surplus Furniture, deal with the public are trained to communicate and provide the best possible customer service to all customers, including persons with disabilities
• Ensuring employees are trained and familiar with various assistive devices that may be used by customers with disabilities who are accessing Surplus Furniture’s goods or services
• Ensuring completion of accessibility training is tracked and recorded
• Ensuring customers and other third parties who are accompanied by service animals or support persons in areas of Surplus Furniture open to the public are accommodated
• Providing customers with prompt notification of any disruption to our services or facilities. Notices are posted in accessible formats in public entrances where customers access Surplus Furniture’s products and services with information regarding the reason for the disruption, its anticipated duration and a description of alternative facilities and services, if available. Depending on the nature of the disruption, Surplus Furniture also uses other accessible communication channels, such as messages on the appropriate corporate websites.
• Welcoming customer feedback to improve the accessibility of products and services through multiple communications channels
• Information has been added to Surplus Furniture’s websites to communicate its accessible customer service policies.

Emergency procedure, plans and public safety information

Commitment: Surplus Furniture is committed to providing its customers with publicly available emergency information in an accessible way upon request.

Action taken: The following measures have been implemented by Surplus Furniture:

• Emergency procedures, plans and public safety information that are prepared by Surplus Furniture and made available to the public, are made available in an accessible format or with appropriate communication supports, as soon as practicable, upon request
• An Accessible Format Request Form was developed and is available online on Surplus Furniture’s internal website, for completion by Surplus Furniture employees upon receipt of a request from the public for documentation in an accessible format. In addition, an internal referral process is in place for fulfilling the accessible format request.

Workplace emergency response information

Commitment: Where Surplus Furniture is aware that an employee has a disability and that there is a need for accommodation, individualized workplace emergency response information will be provided to the employee as soon as practicable if such information is necessary given the nature of the employee’s disability.

Action taken: The following measures have been implemented by Surplus Furniture:

• Individualized workplace emergency response information procedures have been developed for employees with disabilities, as required
• Workplace Emergency Response Information forms have been prepared for employees who have disclosed a disability and who are being accommodated according to their disabilities
• Where required, Surplus Furniture provides assistance to specific disabled employees, with the disabled employees’ prior consent, to help them evacuate the workplace in case of an emergency or disaster. These plans for providing assistance have been set out in individualized emergency plans for the employees
• These individualized emergency plans have been communicated to the employees’ respective managers and Safety personnel, on an ‘as needed’ basis
• On an ongoing and regular basis, and as per the applicable terms of the IASRs, Surplus Furniture reviews and assesses general workplace emergency response procedures and individualized emergency plans to ensure accessibility issues are addressed.

Training

Commitment:  Surplus Furniture will provide training to employees on Ontario’s accessibility laws and on the Ontario Human Rights Code as it relates to people with disabilities. Training will be provided in a way that best suits the duties of the employees.

Action Taken: Surplus Furniture has taken the following steps to ensure employees are provided with the training needed to meet Ontario’s accessibility laws:

• Established an internal committee with the responsibility for developing appropriate training
• Determined and ensured that appropriate training on the requirements of the IASRs and on the Ontario Human Rights Code as it pertains to persons with disabilities, is provided to employees
• Incorporated the training into the employee orientation process for new employees and taken steps to ensure that the training is provided to existing employees as soon as practicable
• Kept and maintained a record of the training provided, including the dates that the training was provided and the number of individuals to whom it was provided
• Ensured that training is provided, on an ongoing basis, as it relates to any policies that have been revised pursuant to AODA.

Information and communication standards

Commitment: Surplus Furniture is committed to meeting the communication needs of people with disabilities. Surplus Furniture has and will continue to incorporate new accessibility requirements under the information and communication standards to ensure that its information and communication systems are accessible and are provided in accessible formats that meet the needs of people with disabilities.

1. Feedback, accessible formats and communication supports

Action taken: Customer feedback processes allow for multiple types of communication such as email, telephone, or regular mail.

Surplus Furniture has taken the following steps:

• Ensured existing feedback processes are accessible to people with disabilities, upon request; and,
• Ensured all publicly available information is made accessible, upon request,
• Ensured that existing and new processes for receiving and responding to feedback are accessible to persons with disabilities by providing or arranging for the provision of accessible formats and communication supports, upon request and in a timely manner
• As a general principle where accessible formats and communication supports for persons with disabilities are requested
• Provided or arranged for the provision of such accessible formats and communication supports.
• Consulted with the person making the request to determine the suitability of the accessible format or communication support
• Provided or arranged for the provision of accessible formats and communication supports in a timely manner that takes into account the person’s accessibility needs due to disability, and at a cost no more than the regular cost charged to other persons
• Notified the public about the availability of accessible formats and communication supports.

2. Accessible websites and web content

Action taken: Surplus Furniture has taken the following steps to make all new websites and content on those sites conform with WCAG 2.0, Level A:

• All new Surplus Furniture websites are assessed and evaluated for accessibility to ensure conformance with WCAG 2.0 Level A
• Adoption of internal standards to ensure the public websites are more accessible (i.e., have moved away from non-W3C formats (World Wide Web Compliant) to more flexible Internet rich media in website implementations)
• AODA compliance has been included as one of the criteria in selecting technology vendors for new website development initiatives.

Surplus Furniture has taken the following steps to make all websites and content conform with WCAG 2.0, Level AA:

• Ensured development of its next generation digital platform for public websites, in-store media, and information technology infrastructure meet AODA Information and Communication Standards and that partnering vendors have necessary expertise with such technology
• Outlined roles and responsibilities in web content and development policies regarding content compliance for new intranet sites
• Fostered collaboration between internal departments to ensure communications and other public documents and media are readily available in alternate accessible formats.
• Conducted accessibility reviews of all websites prior to launch
• Expanded corporate awareness of requirements for compliance with Information and Communication Standards of AODA.

Employment

Commitment: Surplus Furniture is committed to fair and accessible employment practices across all stages of the employment cycle.

Action Taken: The following measures have been implemented by Surplus Furniture:

• Notifying job applicants, when they are individually selected to participate in the next stage of an assessment or selection process, that accommodations are available upon request in relation to the materials or processes to be used.
• If a selected applicant requests an accommodation, Surplus Furniture consults with the applicant and provides, or arranges for the provision of, a suitable accommodation in a manner that takes into account the applicant’s accessibility needs due to disability.
• When making offers of employment, Surplus Furniture notifies the successful applicant of its policies for accommodating employees with disabilities.
• Regularly informing employees of policies (and any updates to those policies) used to support employees with disabilities, including policies on the provision of job accommodations that takes into account an employee’s accessibility needs due to disability. This information is provided to new employees as soon as practicable after commencing employment.
• Upon the request of an employee with a disability, Surplus Furniture consults with the employee to provide, or arrange for the provision of, accessible formats and communication supports for information that is needed to perform their job and information that is generally available to other employees.
• In determining the suitability of an accessible format or communication support, Surplus Furniture consults with the employee making the request.
• Developed and have in place a written process for the development of documented individual accommodation plans for employees with disabilities.
• Developed and have in place a return to work process for employees who have been absent from work due to a disability and require disability-related accommodations in order to return to work.
• Taking into account the accessibility needs of employees with disabilities, as well as any individual accommodation plans, when conducting performance management, providing career development and advancement to employees, or when redeploying employees.

Public spaces

Commitment:

• Preventative maintenance: Surplus Furniture has a repair and replacement plan in place, including funds set aside, for all its premises
• Emergency repairs: Surplus Furniture has funds set aside for emergency repairs. If an emergency repair cannot be addressed immediately, front line staff will prioritize the issue and accommodate the individual as soon as possible within the premises or common area
• Temporary disruptions: Surplus Furniture has an interdisciplinary team of people that can be contacted by customers and employees should there be a temporary disruption, with the ability and resources to solve the problem as soon as possible.

Feedback

For more information on this Accessibility Plan, please contact:

Phone: (705) 735-1184 Ext 202

Email: accessibility@surplusfurniture.com

Mail:

Surplus Furniture and Mattress Warehouse

90 Anne St S Unit 100

Barrie, ON

L4N2E3

A Surplus Furniture employee will follow up and respond within 5–10 business days. If you have a complaint, it will be addressed according to our standard complaint management process.