Employers and human resource professionals will undoubtedly remember 2022 as another year shaped by the pandemic.
But…there were also legal developments in 2022 that were not related to COVID-19. In this FTR Now, we look at some of the past year’s notable “non-pandemic” cases and legislative developments.
The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (Tribunal) has determined that it has concurrent jurisdiction to decide claims of discrimination and harassment falling within the scope of a collective agreement governed by the Labour Relations Act (LRA) and the Police Services Act (PSA). The decision addresses a significant question of law arising from the 2021 decision…
An Ontario labour arbitrator has upheld a grievance challenging the reduction of life insurance coverage for employees who die after having reached age 65, finding that the relevant provision of the insurance policy had not been incorporated into the collective agreement. In the same decision, the arbitrator dismissed two policy grievances challenging the termination of…
In Ontario (Health) v. Association of Ontario Midwives, the Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (Ministry), upholding the finding of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (Tribunal) that the Ministry engaged in gender discrimination in compensation setting practices for midwives. In this Case in Point,…
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…
Allegations of systemic discrimination in the workplace, and in the service industry, are becoming increasingly common—and no less complex. Allegations of this nature frequently span a lengthy period of time, involve multiple individuals and engage a number of different grounds protected by the Ontario Human Rights Code.
On September 22, 2021, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) released “OHRC policy statement on COVID-19 vaccine mandates and proof of vaccine certificates” (Policy). The Policy sets out the OHRC’s position on a number of issues related to the government requirement that, starting September 22, 2021, Ontarians will need to be fully vaccinated and provide…
In the recently released decision of Imperial Oil Limited v. Haseeb, a majority of the Divisional Court (Court) quashed a decision of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (Tribunal) which treated “permanent residence” as intrinsically included in the protected ground of “citizenship.” The majority held that such an expansion to the ground of “citizenship” was…
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…
This session focuses on essential investigation skills required by HR Professionals who are charged with investigating workplace incidents including: workplace harassment and violence complaints, discrimination and harassment complaints under the Human Rights Code, employee misconduct, such as suspected sick leave abuse or time theft, health and safety complaints.
