Myths and misunderstandings regarding employees on leave
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 »Posts Tagged ‘duty to accommodate’
Mandatory retirement ends for federally regulated employers
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 »Sick days or personal days?
Thursday, November 3rd, 2011
Employers are often at a loss as to how to ensure employees who take sick days are really sick and not simply abusing the system. They are often scared to ask for doctor’s notes, but also scared that if they don’t, the abuse will become rampant. I often encourage employers to consider abandoning the notion of sick days altogether, and simply provide a fixed number of “personal days”, which eliminates the implicit or explicit requirement that an individual be sick in order to have time off.
Read the rest of this post »ATP holders not allowed to smoke medical marijuana in liquor licensed establishments
Tuesday, October 4th, 2011
Although it was clearly discriminatory on the prohibited ground of disability, the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal recently found it could not allow an applicant to smoke his medical marijuana in liquor-licensed establishments. This discrimination could be justified because…
Read the rest of this post »Slaw: Dialogue on human rights relating to religious belief and practices
Thursday, September 22nd, 2011
The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) has invited citizens to submit short papers (six to eight pages) toward a dialogue on human rights, specifically relating to religious belief and practice as shaped by the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Read the rest of this post »Duty to accommodate disability case sent back to Human Rights Tribunal
Friday, September 16th, 2011
The tribunal that decided the case of alleged discrimination against a part-time paramedic with multiple sclerosis who was shifted to a part-time ambulance driver position (at the paramedic’s pay rate) left some loose ends, according to the Supreme Court of British Columbia. The Court sent the case back to the tribunal to decide if the employer reasonably accommodated the employee, even though he was not able to perform important paramedic duties.
Read the rest of this post »Absenteeism is on the rise
Thursday, September 8th, 2011
We have just reported our Q2 2011 results. We have gone through the time consuming and detailed process of auditing and are now in the process of letting folks know what happened in Q2 2011 on a range of metrics. One measure that we have been keeping a close eye on is absenteeism. Absenteeism keeps going up and the Q2 results are continuing that trend.
Read the rest of this post »The Air Canada pilots’ mandatory retirement saga – will it end with the tribunal’s third decision?
Friday, August 26th, 2011
In July, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal made its third decision in the case of two Air Canada pilots who challenged the airline’s mandatory retirement policy. The tribunal decided in favour of Air Canada. Then, in August, the tribunal decided in a similar case involving 70 other Air Canada pilots. The tribunal again decided in favour of the airline, but for different reasons. For those hoping the July decision would settle the matter once and for all, the August decision is sure to confuse matters.
Read the rest of this post »Pre-hiring accommodation
Thursday, July 7th, 2011
As most of us are aware, the Human Rights Code prohibits discrimination in the context of employment, and applies both during the employment relationship and in the hiring process. Most of us would take it as a given that you cannot make hiring decisions based upon grounds such as race, religion, gender, or disability. However, it is not quite as widely understood that the duty to accommodate an individual applies even to those who are not yet employees.
Read the rest of this post »First Nations Day in Canada
Tuesday, June 21st, 2011
This is the longest day of the year and marks the changing of seasons. It is also a very important day for Aboriginal people…
Read the rest of this post »Undue hardship – myth or reality? Learn the latest!
Monday, June 6th, 2011
Every employer has experience accommodating employees due to their religion, family needs, health or disability. Accommodation is a necessary practice to manage a workplace today, and it’s the law in Canada, enshrined in the Canadian Human Rights Act and various provincial statutes. But every case of accommodation is different, and interpretations of the law vary.
Read the rest of this post »Work-life balance incentives
Tuesday, April 19th, 2011
Quebec launches a work-life balance initiative that is said to be unique in all the world. Let’s hope it catches on in other provinces and territories.
Read the rest of this post »Slaw: The AODA era part I: The accessibility standard for customer service, how much time do I have?
Thursday, March 10th, 2011
The AODA customer service standard outlines what businesses and other organizations in Ontario must do to make their goods and services more accessible to people with disabilities by January 1, 2012. Every person or organization that provides goods and services to members of the public or other third parties, and has at least one employee in Ontario, must comply.
Read the rest of this post »Employers are responsible for employees attending training
Tuesday, March 8th, 2011
What is your workplace policy on protecting (accommodating) employees and others who have food allergies, environmental sensitivities and other “hidden” of “non-evident” potential disabilities?
Read the rest of this post »A new return-to-work approach: WSIB work reintegration policies
Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011
Interim changes to work reintegration policies under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act came into force recently. The new work reintegration policies formally integrate existing policies on early and safe return to work, re-employment and labour market re-entry.
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Recent Comments
Leslie D Foreman:
I agree with the court decision. Granting a full 52 weeks leave for an adoptive...
Andrew Taillon:
Thanks Chris. I would suggest that the confusion arises from the way damages were...
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