The Latest Updates for School Boards Before the Summer

As the 2019 – 2020 school year draws to a close, it would be an understatement to say that the year did not go as expected. From the hurried transition to online learning to the ongoing adjustment to the “new normal” of synchronous learning, we know that our clients have successfully navigated unprecedented and difficult challenges – and that there will be more to come.

Family Status and Accommodation

Family status is one of fastest growing areas of human rights law. Increasingly, adjudicators are focusing on whether employers have met their procedural obligations under the Human Rights Code. The following checklist will help you develop an effective internal process for assessing and responding to requests for accommodation on the basis of family status.

Appellate Court Reviews “Family Status” Test

The British Columbia Court of Appeal recently clarified the meaning and scope of the term “family status” in Envirocon Environmental Services, ULC v. Suen. This case confirmed the Campbell River test, which imposes a higher standard for establishing discrimination than the often-cited Federal Court of Appeal test in Johnstone, adding to the “family status” interpretation…

An Update on the Status of Family Status – Just in Time for Family Day

In a recent decision released by the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, the Tribunal found that an employer discriminated against the Applicant, a personal support worker, by failing to accommodate her special childcare needs. The Tribunal found that the Applicant’s employment was terminated at least in part because she was unable to offer more flexible hours due to her childcare obligations. The Tribunal awarded a remedy of $30,000 in compensation for injury to the Applicant’s dignity, feelings and self-respect.

Human Rights Update 2017
L’état des droits de la personne en 2017

Overview Aperçu Employers have faced a steady stream of challenges in recent years in managing human rights issues in the workplace. The law imposes considerable obligations on employers, and there are seldom easy answers when difficulties arise. Join George Vuicic and Anne Lemay as they lead a lively presentation and discussion on the most significant…

HRTO Decision Clarifies Family Status Accommodation Test and Finds Reasonable Investigation Conducted

In Ananda v. Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning, a recent decision of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (Tribunal), the Tribunal confirmed its approach to assessing claims of family status discrimination (in this case, involving eldercare) and described some of the features of a picture-perfect human rights investigation…

Tribunal Rejects the Johnstone Test for Establishing Family Status Discrimination in New Eldercare Case

In a significant recent decision relating to eldercare accommodation, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (Tribunal) indicated its intention to depart from the test for family status discrimination outlined by the Federal Court of Appeal in Canada (Attorney General) v. Johnstone and Canadian National Railway v. Seeley