Tuesday, February 21st, 2012
Andrew Lawson recently introduced our readers to the StopGap one-step ramp project at www.stopgap.ca. The group offers businesses in Ontario a one-step accessibility ramp for free. Sounds great, right? Well, during my several years on Ontario’s accessible built environment standards committee, we addressed the issue of one-step ramps and members raised valid reasons not to assume this is a fix in all situations. So what is the conundrum?
Read the rest of this post »
Tuesday, February 7th, 2012
A January 25, 2012, British research study indicates that people who work 11 or more hours a day have double the odds of becoming depressed compared with those who don’t work overtime. But why is this important for us as employers to know?
Read the rest of this post »
Friday, February 3rd, 2012
The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal recently examined an application before it and an earlier statement of claim made in court by the same person, and concluded that the claims were virtually identical. They were based on the same facts, made the same allegations and sought similar remedies…
Read the rest of this post »
Thursday, February 2nd, 2012
Many people continue to deny others equal treatment, intentionally and not. Law Times offers a recent example of alleged systemic discrimination; the case Law Society of Upper Canada v. Selwyn Milan McSween raises the question of whether racism hinders black lawyers’ participation in big law firms in Ontario.
Read the rest of this post »
Tuesday, January 24th, 2012
I am going to tell you a story that will test your knowledge of your current legal responsibilities under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and the Ontario Human Rights Code. For those readers who pass the test, congratulations, you are providing all your customers with the respect they deserve and have sufficient knowledge to insulate your organization from legal liability. For those of you who don’t pass, well, we’ll give you another chance and point you in the direction of some helpful resources to help you get on track!
Read the rest of this post »
Tuesday, January 17th, 2012
As you probably know, the Transportation Standards under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act will come into force over the next five years. The Government has released the accessible transportation compliance dates, and you can find them all below. Obligated transportation providers can keep this schedule as a quick reminder of present and future compliance deadlines.
Read the rest of this post »
Monday, January 16th, 2012
The federal government gave royal assent to Bill C-13, Keeping Canada’s Economy and Jobs Growing Act on December 15, 2011. Several of the measures enacted have an impact on employment law for federally regulated workplaces. One of the measures amends the Canadian Human Rights Act to eliminate the mandatory retirement age for federally regulated employees.
Read the rest of this post »
Friday, January 13th, 2012
I read a case recently that clearly illustrates why employers should ensure that interview questions are related to the actual job responsibilities required for a job, and to remember to make and keep for a reasonable period of time interview notes that include the reasons for hiring (and not hiring) candidates.
Read the rest of this post »
Monday, January 9th, 2012
Valuable information can come from diverse sources. Consider this case I uncovered via the daily commuter newspaper: a female employee complained that a third-party service provider harassed her. The incident took place on the employer’s premises, but the alleged harasser was not employed directly by the employer. He was employed by the company that serviced the company’s office photocopiers…
Read the rest of this post »
Tuesday, December 20th, 2011
Reverse discrimination is not a legal term but a socially constructed idea that describes a particular phenomenon; it is a side effect of employment equity programs, as they are called in Canada; “affirmative action” programs in the United States. Reverse discrimination in employment is perceived to have occurred when the majority (or a member of it) is denied an opportunity because the law forces an employer to hire a person from a minority group.
Read the rest of this post »
Wednesday, December 14th, 2011
January 1, 2012, is the date to complete all actions required under the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service and emergency preparedness requirements in the Integrated Accessibility Standards. The good news is, if your organization is obligated to report, you do not have to file with the government until December 31, 2012.
Read the rest of this post »
Wednesday, December 7th, 2011
The Accessibility Standards for Customer Service require employers to provide accessible customer service to persons with disabilities. In order to comply with the legislation, all businesses and organizations providing goods or services to the public with at least one employee in Ontario must meet several requirements by January 1, 2012. What we gathered at our most recent AODA seminar is that employers are very concerned about the training aspect of the customer service obligations.
Read the rest of this post »
Tuesday, December 6th, 2011
Two men are holding hands and occasionally kissing while waiting in line at a driver licensing office. A person waiting in line approaches the men calling them “fags” and telling them their behaviour is “disgusting”. The same person attempts to engage others waiting in the line to join in the demeaning discourse…
Read the rest of this post »
Thursday, December 1st, 2011
We are pleased to announce that Matt Lalande will be joining our team of regular bloggers. Matt is a lawyer at Haber & Associates. Although Matt is specialized in representing those who have suffered harm by the wrongs of others, Matt has particular emphasis on wrongful death, personal injury and employment law. He will be writing on issues relating to employment law.
Read the rest of this post »
Thursday, December 1st, 2011
As more employees spend time on leaves of absence, employers seem to be struggling to understand their rights and obligations…
Read the rest of this post »
Copyright © 2012 - First Reference | Entries (RSS) | Comments (RSS) | Twitter | Facebook
WordPress theme designed by 
web design
