Tag: Accommodation

Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario Confirms Childcare Preferences Do Not Trump Employer’s Scheduling Needs

· 6 min read

In Aguele v. Family Options Inc., the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) confirmed that the duty to accommodate in the context of a family status accommodation scheduling request is not unlimited. An employee has an obligation to accept accommodation that is reasonable in the circumstances, failing which an employer’s accommodation obligation is discharged. This…

HRTO Finds Availability of Different Remedies under a Different Proceeding not Determinative of Whether Substance of HRTO Application had been Appropriately Dealt With  

· 3 min read

In Green v National Steel Car Ltd., the Human Rights Tribunal Ontario (HRTO) found that the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal (WSIAT) has the direct authority to apply the Human Rights Code (Code) and to determine the appropriate accommodation of medical restrictions. The application before the HRTO on the same issue, therefore, had been…

Reaching Out – Fifteenth Edition

· 12 min read

Dear Friends, We are back with another edition of Reaching Out. With 2020 behind us and some light at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic tunnel, we thought it appropriate to reconnect with our Social Services clients with a Spring edition of Reaching Out. We chose not to publish Reaching Out last year as we…

Arbitrator Provides Guidance for Employers Managing Commute to Work Accommodation Requests, Self-Reported Medical Restrictions, and Surveillance Evidence

· 5 min read

In Toronto District School Board v Local 4400, Canadian Union of Public Employees, Arbitrator Stout dismissed an allegation of disability-related discrimination and failure to accommodate in the context of a commute to work. The case elaborates on the reasoning of Arbitrator Nyman in Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation and Toronto District School Board, Grievance #…

Accommodating Medical Marijuana

· 1 min read

Accommodating medicinal cannabis requires balancing an employee’s rights under the Human Rights Code with an employer’s obligations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of workers. These obligations are especially pronounced in workplaces that include safety-sensitive positions.