ONTARIO ACCESSIBILITY POLICY AND MULTI-YEAR ACCESSIBILITY PLAN 2024 TO 2027

Summary

This accessibility policy and multi-year accessibility plan outlines the current, ongoing and planned actions of Cadence Design Systems (Canada) Ltd. (“the Company”) as it strives to remove barriers and ensure equality of opportunity for people with disabilities.

This policy and plan will be reviewed at least once every five years. A review will be conducted more frequently in the event of legislative changes or any changes to the work or the workplace that necessitates an earlier review.

This policy and plan will be posted in communal areas of our Ontario locations and on websites/intranets accessed by Ontario employees. Individuals can request a copy of this policy and plan at any time in a format or with communication supports that meet the needs of the individual.

Unless otherwise stated in this policy and plan or in accordance with applicable law, the commitments set out in the plan are being achieved, implemented and/or planned as of the effective date of this policy.

Statement of Commitment

The Company 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 also committed to giving people with disabilities the same opportunity to access and benefit from its services, in the same place and in a similar way as those without disabilities. The Company is 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”).

In order to meet this commitment, the Company complies with the AODA. Equally importantly, the Company has created a multi-year accessibility plan for the purpose of continuing to meet its commitments under the AODA.

Customer Service

The Company will communicate and interact with all persons with disabilities in a manner that takes into account their disability. Any training conducted in respect of providing customer service will reaffirm the importance of this principle. The Company will train employees, staff and volunteers who interact with the public or third parties on its behalf, or who participate in developing Company policies, on the Customer Service Standard of the AODA. Training will be done as soon as reasonably practicable following hire, or following a change in role, legislation, or Company policy, as required.

Training will include how to interact and communicate with persons with various types of disability; how to interact with persons with disabilities who use an assistive device or require the assistance of a service animal or a support person; the proper use of assistive devices; and what to do if a person with a particular type of disability is having difficulty accessing the Company’s goods or services. Records of training will be kept. If a person with a disability is accompanied by a support person, the Company shall ensure that both persons are permitted to enter the premises together and that the person with a disability is not prevented from having access to the support person.

Please also see the Company’s Accessible Customer Service Policy for information about how the Company meets the requirements of the Customer Service Standard under the AODA.

Accessible Emergency Information

The Company is committed to providing its customers and clients with publicly available emergency information in an accessible format and/or with appropriate communication supports, upon request.

The Company also provides individualized emergency response information to employees who, for reasons related to their disability, if the disability is such that the individualized information is necessary and we are aware of the need for accommodation due to the employee’s disability.

The Company has and will ask employees for information about the disability supports that may be required in the event of an emergency. We will work with each employee who responds to its request for information in order to develop an individualized workplace emergency response plan.

New employees will be asked whether they require assistance in the event of an emergency, in which case an individualized workplace emergency response plan will also be prepared in consultation with that employee. The Company will periodically remind employees to identify whether they require assistance in the event of an emergency, or, if relevant, as part of an ongoing accommodation inquiry, in which case an individualized workplace emergency response plan will also be prepared in consultation with that employee.

Individualized workplace emergency response plans will be updated as required and within thirty days of:
(a) the employee moving to a different location in the organization; (b) a review of the employee’s overall accommodation needs or plans; or (c) when the Company reviews its general emergency response policies.

Training

The Company will ensure all employees, volunteers, persons participating in the development and approval of the Company’s policies, and others who provide goods, services or facilities on behalf of the Company are trained on:

a. the Integrated Accessibility Standards of the AODA; and

b. the Human Rights Code as it relates to people with disabilities.

Training will be appropriate to the duties performed by the individual. Training will be provided as soon as practicable after an individual begins working, volunteering or otherwise providing services necessitating training.

The Company will keep and maintain a record of the training provided, including the dates that the training was provided and the number of individuals to whom it was provided.

The Company will ensure training is provided on any changes to relevant policies on an ongoing basis.

Information and Communications

The Company is committed to meeting the communication needs of people with disabilities. We will consult with people with disabilities to determine their information and communication needs. Accessible communication may include, but is not limited to, large print, text alternative.

Websites

The Company will also ensure that all internet websites and web content conform with WCAG 2.0 Level AA, other than, success criteria 1.2.4 Captions (Live), and success criteria 1.2.5 Audio Descriptions (Pre- recorded). Except where meeting the requirement is not practicable within the meaning of the AODA and its Regulations, this commitment applies to all web content published on a website after January 2012, and all websites and web content, including web-based applications, that an organization controls directly or through a contractual relationship that allows for modification of the product.

Feedback Processes

The Company welcomes and appreciates all forms of feedback. We are also committed to establishing and maintaining a process for receiving and responding to feedback about how our products and services are provided to people with disabilities.

The Company will take the following steps to ensure existing feedback processes are accessible to people with disabilities upon request:

The Company will review its existing processes for receiving feedback, to ensure that disabled individuals can provide feedback in a manner that meets their particular needs.

• Upon request and in a timely manner, the Company will provide an accessible format and/or communication support to enable an individual with a disability to provide feedback, including feedback about the feedback process itself. Feedback can be delivered verbally in person or by telephone by calling +1 (408) 944-7040 or +1 (800) 214-4563, or in writing and delivered in person or via regular mail to ATTN: Canada HR, 4950 Yonge St., Suite 1812, North York, ON M2N 6K1, Canada or email to accessibility@cadence.com. ]. If a method of providing feedback is not suitable, the Company will prove additional alternate methods upon request and will ensure that the feedback process is accessible to persons with disabilities by providing or arranging for the provision of accessible formats and communications supports, upon request.
• Feedback received by the Company will be redirected to a designated contact person within the Company's Human Resources Department, who will address the feedback promptly.
• Along with providing acknowledgement of such feedback, the Company will communicate any resulting actions based on concerns or complaints that were submitted.
• Upon request and in a timely manner, the Company will arrange for its responses to feedback to be provided in an accessible format and/or with necessary communication supports.

Publicly Available Information

The Company will take the following steps to make sure all publicly available information is made accessible to persons with disabilities upon request:

• The Company will review its existing processes for providing the public with information, to ensure that disabled individuals can also receive such information in a manner that meets their particular needs.
• Upon request and in a timely manner, the Company will provide an accessible format and/or communication support to enable an individual with a disability to receive publicly available information.
• Requested information will be provided 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.
• The Company will consult with the person making the request to determine the suitability of the accessible format or communication support that is requested.

Employment

The Company is committed to fair and accessible employment practices, as set forth in our Equal Employment Opportunity Policy. This commitment applies at all stages of the employment relationship.

Providing workplace accommodation means making adaptations or adjustment in the workplace to enable an individual with particular needs to perform the duties and fulfill the requirements of the job and to participate in training and career development opportunities with the Company. It means making changes to the work environment to allow for the use of the skills of an employee with a disability in order that the essential requirements of the job may be met. It does not mean changing the essential duties of the job or position. Accommodation is linked to the nature of the work performed contributes to the individual’s performance of the essential or bona fide requirements of their work. Accommodation is provided to the point of undue hardship for conditions which have an impact on employment. Accommodation does not require an employer to create a job or so significantly alter a job as to have a different job in order to accommodate an applicant or an employee. Accommodation is done on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the employee’s individualized needs and the Company’s operational realities.

Employees are expected to cooperate with and participate in the search for appropriate accommodation, including providing medical evidence/support as may be reasonably required under this plan and policy and/or applicable human rights laws.

Hiring Practices

We commit to undertake reviews of existing policies, to create new policies if required, and to revise document templates as required to promote accessibility and reduce barriers to employment. Specifically, and further to its objective of creating an inclusive workplace, the Company will take the following steps in respect of its recruitment processes:

The Company will ensure that our Careers site and job postings specify that accommodation is available for applicants with disabilities during the recruitment and interview/assessment processes. This includes notifying employees, candidates, and the public that accommodation is available in recruitment, hiring and throughout the interview process, and provide accommodation as needed.

The Company will train its staff involved in recruitment and hiring to advise applicants verbally, at the time that they are offered interviews or other assessment processes, that accommodation is available for applicants with disabilities during the interview/assessment processes.

If an applicant requests accommodation, the Company will consult with the applicant to determine the appropriate means of accommodation.

The Company will include, in offer letters made to successful job candidates and/or other documentation provided upon hire, notice of its policies concerning accommodation of employees with disabilities as well as information on where and how to obtain copies of such policies, including in accessible formats. The Company will provide updated information to employee, as necessary, in the event of a change in the Company’s accommodation policies and/or procedures.

Employees will also be trained as soon as reasonably practicable following hiring on the Company’s accommodation policies and Multi Year Accessibility Plan and Policy, which includes information on accommodation in employment, the Human Rights Code, and the Company’s commitment to fair and accessible employment practices. Employees will be retrained as required when policies and plans are amended.

Accommodation Information

Upon request, the Company will ensure that any employee with a disability will receive information in a format that is accessible or that provides communication supports to the employee. Information for the purpose of this policy includes (a) information that is required for an employee to do the job for which they were hired and (b) any other information that is generally available to employees in the workplace.

Process and Commitment Regarding Individual Accommodation Plans

The Company maintains a process for developing individual accommodation plans and return-to-work plans for employees that have been absent from the workplace due to a disability. Specifically,

• The Company will ensure that an employee requesting accommodation can participate in the development of the individualized accommodation plan. Employees will be able to participate in the development of the individualized accommodation plan by (a) advising the Company of the limitations brought about by the nature of their disability; (b) suggesting methods of accommodating those limitations; and (c) providing medical support for any accommodations requested.
• Employees will be able to participate in the development of the individual accommodation plan by meeting with their Human Resources Business Partner at a mutually convenient time or by providing their written comments to a Company supervisor. Please note that the Company may require an employee to provide medical support for accommodations requested and/or a meeting in person in order to canvass possible options for accommodation.
• The Company will support the ongoing assessment of employees for the purpose of individualized accommodations with reference to any medical information provided by the employee and any medical information requested based upon objective observations and criteria that may necessitate an initial or ongoing physical or mental assessment.
• The Company may request an independent medical examination to assist in the accommodation process. Any request for an independent medical examination will be made in writing and the cost of the examination will be borne by the Company or its insurer, as the case may be.
• An employee’s or candidate’s privacy, as it relates to any personal information disclosed as a result of the need for an individualized accommodation plan, will be safeguarded to the extent possible. The Company will ensure that only information that is reasonably necessary for the accommodation inquiry will be sought from the employee or job applicant. The Company will keep any information disclosed in management offices, with appropriate safeguards, and will not share that information (except as required to implement the individual accommodation plan, including with medical consultants retained by the Company) with any third party without the consent of the employee. Accommodation information that is no longer necessary will be securely destroyed.
• Individualized accommodation plans will be reviewed every two years or upon the provision of new, objective medical information or a change in circumstances that necessitates an earlier review. The Company will undertake the review and will consult with the employee if it is determined that amendments to the plan are required. An employee can request a review of the individualized accommodation plan at any time, understanding that such requests must be objectively necessary and based upon a change in the employee’s accommodation needs, the workplace duties being assigned and/or the physical layout of the workplace.
• In the event that a request for individualized accommodation plan is denied (in whole or in part, including requests to amend the plan), the Company will notify the employee of the reasons for the denial in writing and, with reference to the employee’s disability, in an alternate format that takes into account the employee’s disability.
• Individualized accommodation plans will be provided to an employee in writing and, with reference to the employee’s disability, in an alternate format that takes into account the employee’s disability.

Accessibility Needs Considered

The Company will take the following steps to ensure the accessibility needs of employees with disabilities are taken into account if the Company uses performance management, career development and redeployment processes:

• The Company will take the accessibility needs of employees with disabilities and, as applicable, their individualized accommodation plans, into account in assessments of performance.
• The Company will take into account the accessibility needs of employees with disabilities when providing career development and advancement to its employees with disabilities.
• The Company will take into account the accessibility needs of employees with disabilities when redeploying employees, as that term is understood in the AODA and in layoffs, transfers and reassignments as applicable.

Return to Work

The Company is committed to safely returning employees who have been absent from the workplace to work, with or without accommodation, at the earliest opportunity.

To do so, the Company has developed the following return to work process:

• Either the employee or the Company may initiate the return to work process, based on the employee’s particular circumstances;
• An employee who makes a request to return to the workplace after a period of disability, will be returned to work (with or without accommodations) at the earliest opportunity;
• The Company reserves the right to require an employee to provide objective medical information confirming their ability to safely return to work;
• The Company will implement an individualized accommodation plan for any employee who requires accommodations upon their return to work; and
• The Company will allow the employee to provide input into their return to work plan, subject at all times to the right of the Company to request objective medical information in support of a particular request.

Nothing in this plan and policy relieves an employee of the obligation to participate in a return to work process or disability management process established by the Company’s insurer or other contracting party, if applicable.

Design of Public Spaces and Kiosk Standards

If the Company is building or making any major modifications to a public space it will comply with all legislative requirements, including those mandated by the AODA.

• The Company will ensure that any outdoor paths of travel, like sidewalks, outdoor walkways, ramps, stairs, curb ramps, rest areas, access points to the building, off-street parking and accessible pedestrian signals, which are under its control, are accessible to individuals with disabilities. This includes, but is not limited to: ensuring that appropriate slope angles for ramps, curb ramps, and depressed curbs are implemented; stairs and ramps have appropriate handrails, rise dimensions, anti slip features, and tactile and/or tonal indicators; off street parking is accessible and meets prescribed standards; and any other requirements prescribed by law are met.
• The Company will have regard to the accessibility for persons with disabilities in the event that it designs or acquires service counters or self-service kiosks, including any interactive electronic terminal, including a point-of-sale device, intended for public use that allows users to access products or services. The Company will further ensure that if building service counters, at least one counter could reasonably accommodate a mobility aid including having sufficient height, knee clearance, and floor space to accommodate a mobility aid, and that appropriate signage is included. Any fixed queuing guides will be of sufficient width and floor area to allow for the passage of mobility assistive devices and will be cane detectable. Waiting areas will include accessible seating.
• The Company will have procedures for preventative and emergency maintenance of accessible elements and for dealing with temporary disruptions when accessible elements are not in working order.

For more information:

For more information on this accessibility plan, or to obtain this document in accessible formats, please contact your HR Business Partner.

Effective

This policy is effective December 2023 and is subject to change.