Practice Area: Human Rights

The HRTO and the Duty to Accommodate: How Far Does an Employer Have to Go?

· 4 min read

In a helpful decision for employers, Pourasadi v. Bentley Leathers, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (“HRTO”) found that an employer’s duty to accommodate did not extend to altering the essential duties of a position. In this case, the Applicant, a retail store manager, requested a workplace accommodation for a wrist injury which prevented her…

Supreme Court of Canada On Pregnancy and Parental Leave Top-Ups

· 5 min read

The Supreme Court of Canada recently upheld a decision of a British Columbia arbitrator which had found that denying birth mothers entitlement to parental supplemental employment (“SEB” or “top-up”) benefits where they had received pregnancy SEB plan benefits was discriminatory. The issue before the arbitrator turned on an interpretation of the collective agreement in place…

Ontario Releases Action Plan to Stop Sexual Violence and Harassment

· 2 min read

On March 6, 2015, the Ontario government published It’s Never Okay: An Action Plan to Stop Sexual Violence and Harassment, a targeted action plan (“Plan”) to address sexual violence and harassment in Ontario, in part through significant legislative reforms and sector-specific training initiatives. Among other things, the Plan will target sexual violence and harassment in…

Ontario Publishes Review of AODA and Recommendations

· 1 min read

On February 13, 2015, the Ontario government published a report on the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (“AODA”) by Mayo Moran, Provost and Vice-Chancellor of Trinity College at the University of Toronto. The report constitutes the second legislative review of the AODA, and outlines her recommendations to the government, which include: renewal of…

City Did Not Breach Duty to Accommodate When it Declined Firefighters’ Request for Exception to Mandatory Retirement Policy

· 6 min read

In a recent decision, Corrigan v. Corporation of the City of Mississauga [1], the Divisional Court dismissed an application for judicial review of a decision of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (the “Tribunal”), which found that the City of Mississauga did not breach its procedural duty to accommodate when it declined to accommodate suppression…

Maintaining a Workplace Free of Sexual Harassment

· 6 min read

Over the past several months, the issue of workplace sexual harassment has been in the spotlight and the subject of considerable discussion. In response to recent media attention, the Ontario Human Rights Commission recently issued a statement reiterating the legal duty of employers to prevent sexual harassment and to respond to any complaints in the…

Divisional Court Finds Arbitrator’s Approach to Pre-Access Drug and Alcohol Testing Reasonable

· 1 min read

The Divisional Court has dismissed a judicial review application of an arbitration decision that held that pre-access drug and alcohol testing was contrary to the parties’ collective agreement and the Ontario Human Rights Code. While the Court declined to comment on the Code, it upheld Arbitrator Surdykowski’s finding that the applicant had violated the collective…

2014 Fall Edition

· 1 min read

FOCUS ON UNIVERSITIES Universities – higher learning in the HR world LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS Pillars of success: a “best practices” approach to post-secondary accommodation issues Top ten tips for medical information management PROFILE It’s academic Download PDF