undue hardship
June 18, 2013 Doug Macleod Employee Relations, Human Resources, Human Rights,
What if a single mother asks to miss work to care for her sick child? Or an only child asks for a reduced work week to care for an elderly parent? For many years, discriminating on the basis of family status has been illegal in most Canadian jurisdictions. However, it is only recently that the courts and adjudicators have been called upon to decide the scope of an employer’s obligation to accommodate…
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May 30, 2013 Yosie Saint-Cyr Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation,
The three most viewed articles on HRinfodesk this week deal with a reinstatement that was ruled an undue hardship for the employer, how a series of health and safety violations can be just cause for termination and how an employee on maternity leave was justly terminated due to a corporate downsizing.
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February 25, 2013 Yosie Saint-Cyr Employee Relations, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights,
As we can see by this article, employees requesting a religious accommodation can sometimes conflict with safety issues.
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February 19, 2013 Simon Heath Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights,
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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February 11, 2013 Alison J. Bird Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights,
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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October 12, 2012 Stringer LLP Employee Relations, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Human Rights, Union Relations,
Employers must accommodate employees with disabilities to the point of undue hardship under the Ontario Human Rights Code. The accommodation of scent sensitivities arose in a recent decision of the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal (the “Tribunal”). It raises questions as to what is considered undue hardship when accommodating an employee with a sensitivity to scents.
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March 6, 2012 Christina Catenacci Employee Relations, Human Resources, Human Rights, Privacy and Security, Union Relations
When an employee refused to disclose any medical details prior to returning to work following a leave of absence due to mental disability, the employer was left without the necessary knowledge to determine her fitness to return to her pre-disability leave position and if accommodation was required…
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March 2, 2012 Yosie Saint-Cyr Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Human Rights
Every year we get comments from subscribers around the Christmas and Good Friday holidays about why Canada still uses these Christian religious holidays as statutory (public) holidays when they are trying to promote an image of multiculturalism. I am anticipating the same comments as Good Friday approaches…
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December 1, 2011 Stuart Rudner Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Human Rights, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits
As more employees spend time on leaves of absence, employers seem to be struggling to understand their rights and obligations…
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October 4, 2011 Christina Catenacci Human Resources, Human Rights
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…
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September 16, 2011 Christina Catenacci Human Resources, Human Rights
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.
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August 26, 2011 Christina Catenacci Human Resources, Human Rights, Union Relations
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.
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June 6, 2011 Adam Gorley Conferences, Human Resources, Human Rights
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.
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April 28, 2011 Yosie Saint-Cyr Conferences, Human Resources
Join us at the 12th Annual, Ontario Employment Law Conference, on June 15, 2011 at the Mississauga Convention Centre. This event is hosted by First Reference, with presentations by the lawyers at Stringer Brisbin Humphrey, experts in the areas of employment and labour law.
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March 2, 2011 Yosie Saint-Cyr Health and Safety, Human Resources, Human Rights
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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I believe smoking (i.e., nicotine) is recognized as an addiction, as Simon mentions, which would engage the question of discrimination. – Jun 18, 9:40 PM
Even though as a non-smoking employer I support the actions of Momentous Corp, I am surprised they have even attempted to take this position, given... – Jun 17, 5:46 PM
Where in Human Rights does it say that smokers are now protected under one of the grounds and if so which ground are they protected... – Jun 17, 3:28 PM
