Dear Friends, Well, the verdict is in. Six more weeks of winter according to our furry rodent weather prognosticators! And what better way to fill those cold blustery evenings than something interesting and topical to read? Welcome to the Winter 2014 Edition of Reaching Out, our newsletter specifically focussed on issues relevant, and of particular…
Tag: Accommodation
Application of “Family Status” Considered by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal
Canadian human rights tribunals have, of late, been rendering decisions which examine the reach of “family status” as a prohibited ground of discrimination. Recently, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) examined a case that involved eldercare responsibilities the applicant had for his mother-in-law. It found that the eligibility rules of the employer’s Relocation Directive…
Andrew Zabrovsky Quoted in Canadian Lawyer
Hicks Morley’s Andrew Zabrovksy was quoted in the November 2013 edition of Canadian Lawyer magazine in an article entitled “A coming of age for family status”. The article discusses human rights considerations with respect to family status, with a focus on childcare needs, family illness, and elderly parents. Andrew commented on the duty to accommodate…
School Board Client Update
The following represents a few notable decisions made by the Ontario Labour Relations Board, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario and arbitrators in 2013 that are relevant to school boards in Ontario. FACEBOOK POSTING BY TEACHER WARRANTS DISCIPLINE In Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation and Simcoe County District School Board, 2013 CanLII 62014 (CanLII), the…
The Duty to Accommodate and Poor Workplace Performance
What happens when an employee with physical restrictions is placed in a position consistent with those restrictions and provided with sufficient training, but is unable to perform the functions of that position? An Ontario arbitrator recently found that an employee’s inability to perform in such a position was unrelated to her disability, and that she…
Mandatory Retirement Upheld for Suppression Fire Fighters: HRTO Clarifies Accommodation Obligations
In its recent decision, Corrigan v. Mississauga (City), the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (“HRTO”) considered whether a municipal employer had a positive obligation to consider requests for individual exceptions to the mandatory retirement policy of age 60 for suppression fire fighters and to work with those fire fighters to develop a medical fitness testing…
Grievor’s Poor Performance in Modified Work Not Due to Disability, Employer Met its Duty to Accommodate
Arbitrator Jasbir Parmar has found that an employer met its duty to accommodate when it placed a grievor in a position that was within her physical restrictions and provided her with ample training. The fact her performance was inadequate in the position was not due to her disability, and it was appropriate for the employer…
Reaching Out – Third Edition
Dear Friends, As we welcome back Spring, which finally seems to be taking hold, it presents an opportunity to do some spring cleaning and dust off common HR issues that bear review before we get too far into 2013. In the Spring edition of Reaching Out, Carolyn Cornford Greaves, an associate in our Toronto office…
Article by George G. Vuicic Published in 2012-2013 Labour Arbitration Yearbook
Hicks Morley’s George Vuicic recently authored an article in the 2012-2013 Labour Arbitration Yearbook. The article, “Religious Accommodation in the Workplace: A Management Perspective” provides an overview of the law relating to the accommodation of employees’ religious beliefs and practices in the workplace. View Article
HRTO Orders Reinstatement of Employee Who Was Terminated Almost a Decade Earlier
In a sweeping remedial decision, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario ordered reinstatement of a non-union employee who was terminated from her employment almost a decade earlier, as well as other remedies such as payment of back wages, as adjusted. In so ordering, the Tribunal explicitly stated that where an employer fails in its duty…