human rights legislation
November 8, 2017 Christina Catenacci Employee Relations, Human Resources, Human Rights
Canada is on its way to including genetic discrimination provisions in its human rights legislation. Since March 2017, some interesting developments have occurred.
Bill 164 Human Rights Code Amended Act 2017, Bill 30 the Human Rights Code Amendment Act (Genetic Characteristics) 2016, discrimination, employment law, Genetic characteristics, Genetic discrimination, genetic discrimination provisions, harassment, human rights legislation, Ontario Human Rights Code
April 5, 2017 Christina Catenacci Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Recruiting and Hiring, Union Relations
On March 15, 2017, Bill 51, An Act to Amend the Human Rights Act, received first reading in the New Brunswick legislature, and second reading the next day. The goal of the changes is to modernize the legislation and increase its efficiency. Indeed, this has been the first extensive review of the legislation in 25 years. These changes come on the 50th anniversary of the Human Rights Act. The ultimate goal of the review was to evolve with society and ensure that values are protected. Bill 51 aims to do just this.
An Act to Amend the Human Rights Act, Bill 51, developmental disability, Disability, discrimination, family status, gender identity or expression, harassment, human rights act, human rights legislation, intellectual disability, learning disability, mental disability, New Brunswick's Human Rights Act, policies and procedures, prohibited grounds of discrimination
March 7, 2017 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Corporate Immigration, Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, International HR Law, Privacy and Security, Union Relations
The U.S. 2016 presidential election and post-election are causing much debate, criticism and protest outside of America. Canadians have actively participated in public marches and protests in response to Trump’s comments and proposed policies, as well as the recent proposedU.S. ban on entry to that country from certain Muslim nations. In this context, employers are right to ask whether workplace partisan political arguments fit in the workplace.
Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, discrimination, duty to accommodate, employee’s political beliefs, employee’s political expression or position, Employer programs and policies, employment law, freedom of expression rights, freedom of speech and affiliation, human rights legislation, laws protecting political expression, Political belief association or activity, political belief is a fundamental human right, prohibited grounds of discrimination, retaliatory treatment, the presence of political talk and voicing opinions in the workplace, Workplace partisan political arguments
September 30, 2016 Rubin Thomlinson LLP Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation
A recent Globe and Mail article highlights the fears that new parents face as they contemplate returning to work after a parental leave. It also highlights the issues employers must address when those employees return to work. Since our employer clients often raise questions about post–leave matters, we would like to offer some helpful tips on this issue.
accommodation obligations, benefit coverage, caregiving need, employee pay, employment law, Employment Stadards Act, family status, human rights, human rights legislation, leave policies, parental leave, reinstatement obligation, returning from a leave, returning to work, vacation pay, vacation policies
July 7, 2016 Christina Catenacci Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Recruiting and Hiring, Training and Development
July 3, 2016 marked the first time a Canadian Prime Minister marched in Toronto’s Pride parade. But some may be wondering, ‘Do Canadian laws currently protect LGBT rights in the workplace, and have they kept up with the evolving climate of increased inclusion?’ The answer depends on the particular jurisdiction involved because the issue is addressed in human rights legislation across Canada.
accommodation, Canadian Human Rights Act, Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, cross-dressers, discrimination and harassment, employment law, gender expression, gender identity, ground of sex, human rights act, human rights code, human rights legislation, inclusive workplace policies, intersexed persons, LGBT rights, Pride 2016, rights of transsexuals, sexual orientation, Toronto’s Pride parade, transgenderists
July 7, 2016 Cristina Lavecchia Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Penalties and Fines, Pensions and Benefits, Privacy and Security, Source Deductions and Reporting, Wages and Compensation
The three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk deal with: A case that addresses an employer’s improper deduction from its employee’s final paycheque; a FAQ that addresses an employee’s misuse of sick days; and a human rights case where an employee established disability based on miscarriage.
accommodation in the workplace, claims of discrimination, disability accommodation policy, disability based on miscarriage, employee authorization of deduction, employment law, employment standards act, Facebook evidence, human rights code, human rights legislation, lawful deduction, misuse of sick days, paycheque deduction, rights to privacy and freedom of expression, sick days
July 4, 2016 Michele Glassford Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Payroll, Privacy and Security, Recruiting and Hiring, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation
A recent online article reported that two seventeen-year-old employees were fired from a Kansas City pizza joint for talking about their pay rates. Both were new employees with the same experience, and the female employee discovered she was earning $0.25/hour less than her male co-worker. When she contacted her employer for an explanation, she was fired for discussing wages with a co-worker, as was the male co-worker. The employer advised that discussing pay was against employer policy, even though both employees stated that such policy was never disclosed to them.
discrimination, discrimination in pay policies, discussing pay, discussing wages, employees’ rights to communicate, employer policies, employer policy, employment law, fair pay policies, female employee earning less, Gender wage gaps, gender-based pay gaps, HR policy, human rights legislation, pay policies, pay rates, paying women less than men, personal information about employees, PIPEDA, privacy policy, privacy statutes
June 17, 2016 Rubin Thomlinson LLP Accessibility Standards, Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Penalties and Fines, Standard for Employment, Standard for Information and Communications, Standard for the Built Environment, Union Relations
Mastering the ins and outs of the duty to accommodate under human rights legislation is hard. In fact, some would go so far as to say impossible. It’s no wonder this topic has floated to the top of the list of challenges faced by HR practitioners. I’ve given this some thought and come up with a number of rules that I feel should be followed in all cases.
Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, accommodation policies, Adrian Ishak, AODA, disability coverage, duty to accommodate, eligibility for benefits, employment law, group-insured employee benefit plans, HR practitioners, human rights legislation, Ontario human rights commission, request for accommodation, Rubin Thomlinson LLP
May 26, 2016 Kevin Sambrano, Sambrano Legal Services Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation
The duty to accommodate presents itself to employers in many forms. While the most common accommodation involves a disability, often there are other grounds for accommodation that an employer must address as illustrated in H.T. v. ES Holdings Inc. o/a Country Herbs.
adverse discrimination, BFOR, constructive discrimination, creed, discrimination, duty to accommodate, duty to accommodate in the workplace, employment law, Human Rights in employment, human rights legislation, Kevin Sambrano, mandatory training, Meiorin, Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, policies and procedures, prima facie discrimination, religious accommodation, religious beliefs, termination, undue hardship
May 6, 2016 Stuart Rudner, Rudner Law Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights
In the following case, a breach of human rights legislation was found where the employer refused to allow the employee to have the summer off in order to look after her autistic child.
accommodation, bona fide occupational requirement, Disability, discrimination, employment law, family status, human rights legislation, prima facie case of discrimination
April 27, 2016 Devry Smith Frank LLP Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation
A recent interim decision of the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal addressed whether a miscarriage could constitute a disability for the purposes of human rights legislation.
Disability, duty to accommodate, emotional distress, employment law, human rights code, human rights legislation, human rights protections, medical condition, miscarriage, miscarriage was a disability, Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, pregnancy and maternity, sex, slip and fall accident
August 10, 2015 Alison J. Bird Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Union Relations
Under human rights legislation, employers have a duty to accommodate an employee’s needs related to a prohibited ground of discrimination to the point of undue hardship. It can often be difficult for employers and their legal counsel to assess when the point of undue hardship is reached.
bona fide occupational requirement, duty to accommodate, employment law, human rights act, human rights commission, human rights legislation, LeFrense v IBM Canada Ltd, Nova Scotia Human Rights Board of Inquiry, Physical disability, point of undue hardship, prohibited ground of discrimination
January 9, 2015 Michele Glassford Accessibility Standards, Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Integrated Accessibility Regulation, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Standard for Customer Service, Standard for Employment, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation
On December 18, 2014, the European Court of Justice decided that while obesity, in itself, is not necessarily a disability, where obesity hinders a person’s ability to engage in “full and effective participation” in the workplace, it could warrant the protection of disability legislation. So what is the status of obesity as a disability in Canada?
Disability, discrimination, duty to accommodate, European Court of Justice, Human Resources PolicyPro, human rights legislation, obesity, status of obesity as a disability in Canada, undue hardship
June 27, 2014 Kevin Sambrano, Sambrano Legal Services Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Recruiting and Hiring, Training and Development, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation
Constructive or adverse discrimination in employment occurs when rules or standards are established that do not discriminate at first glance, but have an adverse effect on persons whose rights are protected under human rights legislation. In such a case, the burden shifts to the employer to establish that such rules or standards are essential to the job, also known as bona fide occupational requirements (BFOR’s. British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU is the leading case which addresses this issue. This seminal human rights case from the Supreme Court of Canada established a three-part test which has become the standard to evaluate constructive discrimination.
accessibility, bfoq, BFOR, British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU, canadian employment law, constructive discrimination, Constructive or adverse discrimination, discrimination, duty to accommodate, employment contract, employment law, firefighter, human rights code, Human Rights in employment, human rights legislation, Kevin Sambrano, Meiorin, Paralegal Candidate, policies and procedures, prima facie discrimination, Tawney Meiorin, terminations, undue hardship
May 7, 2014 Stringer LLP Conferences, Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Wages and Compensation
In most jurisdictions in Canada, human rights legislation prohibits discrimination on the basis of “family status.” Until recently, few cases were brought alleging discrimination under this branch. However, recent decisions across several jurisdictions have made it clear that employers must be attentive to this ground of discrimination or risk exposing themselves to significant liability.
#firstref2014, 2014 Ontario Employment Law Conference, discrimination, discrimination on the basis of “family status.”, duty to accommodate, employee requests for accommodation, employment law, Employment law conference, Family Status Accommodation, First reference, HR Law, HR Law conference, human rights legislation, Jeremy Schwartz, Learn the latest, policies and procedures, risk exposing themselves to significant liability, Stringer LLP
Good suggestion Jim. That can work well in appropriate circumstances. – Feb 18, 4:27 PM
Perhaps employers should focus on Health and Safety, Human Rights, Good Faith, and Investigations instead of looking for shortcuts or complex contracts to cover their... – Feb 04, 6:17 PM
