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duty to accommodate

Learn the latest! — Human Rights Tribunal finds discrimination in request for medical information

In Thompson v. 1552754 Ontario Inc., the applicant was employed as a counter person at the respondent’s coffee shop. The applicant alleged discrimination based on disability when her employer refused to allow her to return to work after a three day absence. The employer would not allow the applicant to return to work without providing it with specific medical clearance that she had returned to her “prior state” of health.

 

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Most-viewed articles this week on HRinfodesk

The three most viewed articles on HRinfodesk this week deal with differential treatment in the workplace, how an employee’s dishonesty and breach of confidentiality during a workplace investigation led to termination for cause and how a settlement was easily characterized as a retiring allowance.

 

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Most-viewed articles this week on HRinfodesk

The three most viewed articles on HRinfodesk this week deal with the difficulty of characterizing the employment relationship as that of independent contractor, the taxability of employer-paid membership fees and the high price of age discrimination.

 

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Most-viewed articles this week on HRinfodesk

The three most viewed articles on HRinfodesk this week deal with how a probation period is an opportunity to demonstrate skills, an employer’s failure to prevent workplace harassment. and a Human Rights Tribunal decision to reinstate a terminated employee after the employer failed to accommodate.

 

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Employer failed in duty to accommodate by not considering employment beyond pre-injury position

In the recent decision Fair and Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal provides a useful guide for employers to follow in determining how to return an employee to the workplace after an extended absence.

 

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Good Friday, a public (statutory) holiday, Passover and Easter

On Friday March 29, 2013, also known as Good Friday, employees across Canada get a day off with regular pay or public holiday pay (depending on the jurisdiction).

 

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Most-viewed articles this week on HRinfodesk

The three most viewed articles on HRinfodesk this week deal with whether an employer had the right to terminate an employee’s employment without notice , how a government employee alleged discrimination on the basis of disability and the Ontario Labour Relations Board’s decision permitting the use of telematic devices to monitor company vehicles.

 

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Workplace flexiblity outside of Silicon Valley

The recently publicized news regarding the ban of telecommuting at Yahoo has ensued in a debate about the benefits of flexible work from home versus the requirement to come into work. However the first thought to cross my mind was that this flexible work arrangement only applies to a very small and privileged sector of employees. For example, working in healthcare, I am very aware of the fact that this debate doesn’t apply to nurses or personal support workers.

 

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Religious accommodation and safety issues

As we can see by this article, employees requesting a religious accommodation can sometimes conflict with safety issues.

 

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Most-viewed articles this week on HRinfodesk

The three most viewed articles on HRinfodesk this week deal with workplace discrimination due to childcare obligations, terminating a disabled employee on sick leave and the need to have clear written policies on employee conduct and discipline.

 

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Federal Court clarifies that the prohibited ground of “family status” includes “childcare obligations”

Do employers have to accommodate the “childcare responsibilities” of their employees to the point of undue hardship? The Federal Court has confirmed that in the federal jurisdiction the answer is yes subject to the requirement that the childcare responsibility be a “substantial parental obligation”.

 

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Most-viewed articles this week on HRinfodesk

The three most viewed articles on HRinfodesk this week deal with an employer’s dress code, if a criminal conviction can be viewed as a disability and how guetto comments in the workplace can be construed as discriminatory.

 

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Deadline to prepare accessibility policies approaching

In January, I wrote about how large organizations in Ontario must prepare multi-year accessibility plans to comply with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (by 2014). Well, those organizations (50+ employees) have also got to develop and implement relevant policies by 2014 as well, and that’s going to arrive sooner than you think. Small organizations (1–49 employees) have until 2015 to prepare policies.

 

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What are an employer’s human rights obligations with respect to gender identity?

Across Canada, there is a trend in human rights law to increase protections for transgendered individuals. Last year, Ontario and Manitoba joined the Northwest Territories in expressly including “gender identity” as a prohibited ground of discrimination under their human rights legislation. Ontario also included “gender expression” as a prohibited ground. In addition, Nova Scotia in 2012 added “gender identity” and “gender expression” to its Human Rights Act to protect transgendered persons from discrimination.

 

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Psychological health & safety in the workplace: Now more important than ever

As of January 2013, Canada is now the first country in the world to adopt a national standard for mental health in the workplace. Several health and safety and human rights legislation across Canada already address providing safe and healthy workplaces, the prevention of harassment that includes bullying, sexual harassment, and discrimination based on disability which includes mental illnesses. However, this new standard now gives employers and employees support to make their workplaces psychologically safe and healthy.

 

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