Ordinance of 19 November 2003 on Eliminating Inequalities Affecting Persons with Disabilities (Disability Equality Ordinance) - Purpose (ODIS)

This ordinance contains provisions on: a. the organization of the Federal Bureau for Equality for Persons with Disabilities (FBEPD); b. the exercise of subjective rights and the principle of proportionality; c. the requirements for constructing or renovating in accordance with the needs of persons with disabilities for buildings or facilities owned or co-financed by the Confederation; d. the requirements for arranging services of the Confederation in accordance with the needs of persons with disabilities; e. measures in the personnel sector taken by the Confederation as an employer; f. the granting of financial aid.

Measures taken in the field of public transportation are governed by the ordinance of 12 November 2003 on the Arrangements to Ensure Access for Persons with Disabilities to Public Transportation (OTHand).

The terms are understood as follows: a. build or renovate (Art. 3, let. a, c, and d, LHand): the act of erecting buildings and facilities or transforming them, to the extent that this action is subject to an ordinary or simplified cantonal authorization procedure; b. buildings and facilities (Art. 3, let. a, LHand): temporary or permanent installations and equipment; c. buildings and facilities accessible to the public (Art. 3, let. a, LHand): buildings and facilities: 1. that are open to an indeterminate circle of people, 2. that are open only to a specific group of people who have a special legal relationship with a public entity or with a service provider offering its services there; excluding those buildings and facilities that constitute army combat and command infrastructure, or 3. in which service providers offer personal services; d. discrimination (Art. 6 and 8, para. 3, LHand): any particularly pronounced and severely unequal treatment that is intended to or results in demeaning or marginalizing a person with a disability; e. employers (Art. 13 LHand): the Federal Council, the Federal Assembly, Swiss Post, the Federal Railways, the Federal Tribunal, and the ETH Board for their respective staff; f. Internet (Art. 14, para. 2, LHand): the computer network used by various applications, particularly web browsers or other applications operating on the user's system.

The BFEH is responsible for executing federal tasks concerning equality for persons with disabilities, insofar as these tasks do not fall under the competence of another federal administrative unit.

It promotes equality between persons with disabilities and non-disabled persons in public spaces and advocates for policies aimed at eliminating legal or factual inequalities.

It fulfills the following tasks in particular: a. it informs the public and gathers documentation; b. it advises individuals and authorities; c. it examines requests for financial assistance; d. it implements programs, information campaigns, and pilot projects; e. it addresses equality issues at national and international levels; f. it prepares federal legislation as well as reports and other federal government acts in the field of equality for persons with disabilities; g. it provides opinions on other legislative projects and measures of the Confederation that particularly concern equality for persons with disabilities; h. it verifies the standing for action or appeals of organizations assisting persons with disabilities; i. it coordinates the activities of other federal administrative units; j. it collaborates with organizations assisting persons with disabilities; k. it submits a periodic report to the Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA) on its activities and the results of evaluations made pursuant to Art. 18, para. 3, LHand.

The BFEH is subordinated to the General Secretariat of the DFI.

Organizations qualify to take legal action or appeal within the meaning of Art. 9, para. 2, LHand if they: a. have legal personality; b. have, in accordance with their statutory purpose, primarily been involved in the interests of disabled persons for at least ten years; c. are of national importance, and d. are listed in Annex 1.

Applications to obtain the status of a qualified organization for legal action or appeal must be submitted to the BFEH. They must include the documents necessary to verify the conditions outlined in para. 1, letters a to c.

If a qualified organization for legal action or appeal changes its statutory purpose, legal form, or name, it must immediately notify the BFEH.

The BFEH periodically verifies whether the organizations listed in Annex 1 meet the required conditions for qualification to take legal action or appeal. If any of these organizations no longer meet these conditions, the DFI proposes to the Federal Council to amend Annex 1 accordingly.

To determine whether there is a disproportion within the meaning of Art. 11, para. 1, of the LHand, the following factors must be taken into account, in particular: a. the number of people who use the building or facility or benefit from the service; b. the significance of the building, facility, or service for persons with disabilities; c. the temporary or permanent nature of the building, facility, or service.

If the interests of persons with disabilities need to be evaluated concerning the interests of environmental, nature, or heritage protection, and monuments (Art. 11, para. 1, letter b, of the LHand), the following also need to be considered: a. the significance of the building or facility from the perspective of environmental, nature, or heritage protection, and monuments, and b. the extent to which the required adaptations: 1. harm the environment, 2. harm the substance, structure, and appearance of the building or facility from the perspective of nature or heritage protection, and monuments.

The maximum amount of 5% of the insurance value referred to in Art. 12, para. 1, Disability Act (LHand) is calculated based on the insurance value of the building prior to renovation.

Renovation expenses, as defined in Art. 12, para. 1, Disability Act (LHand), are those expenses that have been planned independently of the measures specifically intended for persons with disabilities.

The SIA 500 standard “Construction without barriers” is decisive for: a. the administrative units referred to in Art. 8 of the Ordinance of 5 December 2008 on the Management of the Confederation's Real Estate and Logistics; b. the administrative units that construct or co-finance collective housing; c. the administrative units that grant financial aid or compensation within the meaning of the Subsidies Act of 5 October 1990.

Each of these administrative units shall develop, within their area of competence, its own program to adapt constructions and installations to the needs of persons with disabilities within the scope of available resources.

The provisions of the OTHand are reserved.

When providing a direct service to the public, the centralized and decentralized administrative units of the federal administration, as well as organizations and enterprises according to Art. 2 of the Federal Act of March 21, 1997, on the Organization of the Government and Administration (LOGA), along with organizations and enterprises holding a federal concession, must take the necessary architectural and technical measures to make their services accessible to persons with disabilities. In particular, they must equip their vending machines with appropriate devices so that persons with disabilities can use them. They must ensure the necessary assistance for persons with disabilities who, due to the nature of their disability, cannot complete the required procedures or operations using technical means. The provisions of the Disability Ordinance are reserved.

Information and communication or transaction services offered on the Internet must be accessible to persons with speech, hearing, visual, or motor disabilities. To this end, websites must be designed in accordance with international computer standards, particularly the guidelines governing Internet page accessibility issued by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and, subsidiarily, with national standards.

The following administrative units and bodies shall adopt the necessary guidelines: a. the Digital Transformation and IT Governance sector of the Federal Chancellery, for the administrative units according to Art. 2, para. 1, LOGA; b. the responsible bodies of the administrative units, organizations, and enterprises according to Art. 2, para. 3 and 4, LOGA, as well as organizations and enterprises holding a federal concession, for their respective fields of activity.

The guidelines are established in collaboration with organizations assisting persons with disabilities and professional organizations specializing in information and communication technology. They are periodically updated based on the technical advancements achieved in the industry.

Administrative units, organizations, and companies pursuant to Art. 2 LOGA shall, upon request by a person with a speech, hearing, or visual disability, take the necessary measures to ensure that the persons responsible for handling the dossier of such individual can communicate with them. These measures must be taken within a timeframe that considers the urgency of the case and the circumstances.

The employer shall take the necessary measures to adapt the professional environment to the needs of its disabled employees, including by arranging: a. the workplace premises; b. the workstation; c. the working hours; d. opportunities for professional development; e. the career plan. The employer shall take the necessary measures to adapt its internal computer networks (Intranet) in accordance with the principles set out in Art. 10, para. 1.

The employer shall designate, among the members of their staff, a person who advises both the employer and the disabled employee on matters related to the integration of persons with disabilities into the professional environment.

A person with a disability who has reason to believe that their application was not accepted due to their disability may request the employer to provide written reasons for which the application was rejected.

The Federal Office for Personnel coordinates the implementation of personnel policy measures taken to ensure the equality of persons with disabilities within the central administration.

The Confederation may grant financial assistance to the cantons which, within the framework of basic education: a. take the necessary personal and organizational measures so that children and adolescents with speech, hearing, or visual disabilities can attend regular classes; b. provide non-disabled children and adolescents with instruction in sign language or braille.

It may grant financial assistance to nonprofit organizations and institutions of national importance which: a. provide the necessary assistance to people with speech, hearing, or visual disabilities so that they can communicate with each other and with other people; b. participate in the training of assistants specialized in communication with people with speech, hearing, or visual disabilities.

The aids are allocated to programs limited in time.

The Confederation may allocate financial assistance particularly to time-limited programs: a. that are highly practice-oriented; b. whose impact endures beyond the period during which assistance is provided; c. that are likely to foster cooperation with other organizations; d. that allow for connections with other programs, or e. that have an experimental nature.

It may also grant assistance with the aim of: a. developing foundations for programs; b. evaluating existing programs; c. promoting awareness campaigns.

The Confederation may allocate financial assistance particularly to time-limited projects: a. that enable the integration of persons with disabilities into work processes; b. that allow for the retention of employment for persons at risk of disability; c. that encourage the development of workplaces adapted to persons with disabilities within companies; d. that allow the experimentation of forms of collaboration between persons with disabilities and non-disabled persons.

Financial assistance is only allocated to a project if: a. it has an impact that lasts beyond the duration of the aid disbursement; b. it is particularly well-suited to the beneficiary organization or company, or c. it has an experimental nature.

Financial aid within the meaning of this ordinance is only granted if the cantons, entities, or responsible organizations provide the programs or projects in question with the contribution that can reasonably be expected from them.

Requests for financial assistance within the meaning of this ordinance must be submitted to the BFEH.

The BFEH sets the annual submission deadlines.

Attached to the request are: a. a detailed description of the project that is the basis of the request; b. a presentation of the objectives; c. a program for the implementation and dissemination of the project results (transfer plan); d. an evaluation plan; e. a detailed estimate and a financing plan; f. any useful information regarding the organizations participating in the project; g. an execution schedule.

The BFEH examines requests for financial assistance. It may call upon specialists.

Particular attention is given to projects that take into account the specific needs of disabled women.

It may require projects to be adapted or coordinated with others.

The amount of financial aid is, within the limits of the granted credits, either proportional to the expenses or determined on a lump-sum basis. If it is proportional to the expenses, a ceiling is set in advance.

The financial aid is allocated either as a single payment or in several installments.

The Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA) is competent to allocate financial assistance. It may delegate this competence to the Federal Bureau for the Equality of People with Disabilities (FBEPD).

The BFEH supervises the implementation of the project.

The applicant regularly informs the BFEH about the progress of the project and submits a final report to it no later than three months after the completion of the work.

The BFEH issues guidelines for the preparation of the report.

The BFEH reviews the project evaluation conducted by the applicant.

It may consult with specialists.

The amendment to the current law is addressed in Annex 2.

This ordinance shall enter into force on January 1, 2004.