accommodating a disability

Arbitrator states worker’s use of medical cannabis results in “unacceptable increased safety risk”- grievance dismissed

January 11, 2019 Occasional Contributors Employee Relations, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Human Rights, Recruiting and Hiring

Increased safety risk arising from cannabis impairment in the workplace can amount to undue hardship. This will likely continue to be the case until there are reliable technologies that can accurately and effectively measure impairment from cannabis.

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Accommodation of medical marijuana

June 1, 2018 Rudner Law, Employment / HR Law & Mediation Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights

The right to accommodation, and the widespread acceptance of medical marijuana, does not mean that employees have a right to use marijuana at work. Safety considerations will be taken into account and although zero tolerance policies will not be automatically enforced, they will be enforced when appropriate.

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A primer on undue hardship and frustration of contract

August 29, 2017 Matt Lalande, Lalande & Company Lawyers Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation

This blog post provides a primer on the state of undue harship and frustration of contract under Ontario’s Human Rights Code.

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Three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk

March 24, 2016 Cristina Lavecchia Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Wages and Compensation

Three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk deal with: a case that looks at employment relationships, particularly between dependent and independent contractors; a case that looks at workplace accommodation for an employee who uses medical marijuana; and proposed amendments to Ontario legislation in relation to the public use of e-cigarettes and medical marijuana, that would have a variety of impacts on the public, businesses, and employers.

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Deaf worker terminated due to ‘inconvenience’

January 29, 2015 Adam Gorley Accessibility Standards, Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Integrated Accessibility Regulation, Standard for Employment, Training and Development

You’d probably be fair in thinking that a deaf, gay Aboriginal man can have a hard time getting a break, but Darryl Wesley seems like the type of person who doesn’t let obstacles get in his way. Nonetheless, when he was terminated from a landscaping job in North Bay, Ontario…

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Should employees talk about mental illness?

January 20, 2014 Meghan Ferguson Employee Relations, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Training and Development, Union Relations

This month media campaigns are encouraging people to talk about mental illness. This raises the question about whether employees should talk to their employer about mental illness or remain silent for fear of losing their jobs.

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A quick primer on just cause termination

August 23, 2012 Matt Lalande, Lalande & Company Lawyers Accessibility Standards, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Standard for Employment

Every month I have the benefit of drafting a quick blog on great employment law topics. A case that I very recently read, which is probably the best employment case I have ever read, catalyzed my interest in drafting a quick primer on the law of just cause. In the case of Barton v. Rona Ontario Inc. (2012 ONSC 3809) the plaintiff Kerry Barton was an assistant store manager at Rona in Barrie. He managed approximately 140 employees. One of the employees was wheelchair bound…

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Improving web accessibility – our own!

December 6, 2010 Adam Gorley Accessibility Standards, Announcements and Administration, Standard for Customer Service, Standard for Information and Communications

Customers demand more of businesses in so many ways these days—better quality and safety, greater social and environmental responsibility, extra service, and accessibility. The law increases its demands frequently, too. Even our governments and public service providers have a hard time keeping up with the legal requirements! Making improvements in all of these areas can challenge an organization, but only accessibility offers the advantage of access to a market of unrealized potential.

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Some basics on dealing with drug and alcohol issues in the workplace

August 18, 2010 Andrew Taillon Human Resources, Human Rights

It is obvious that being inebriated or otherwise impaired in the workplace is inappropriate behaviour. The issue is then how employers can protect their workplace from the imposition of drugs and alcohol, while still respecting the rights of their workers.

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Dealing with a disability leave

May 14, 2010 Christina Catenacci Human Resources, Human Rights

What can an employer do when an employee has been off work for a significant period of time due to a disability (illness or injury)? How long must the employee remain employed with the employer under human rights law? These are questions often asked by employers and human resources professionals.

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