We all write notes for ourselves at some point or another, for one reason or another. Whether it be a ‘to do’ list, a goal list, a diary entry of what we did that day or a reminder to pick up eggs at the store, notes help us in innumerable ways in our daily lives. Notes are [...]
Human Rights Law in Canadian Workplaces
Category Archives: Best practices
Fact versus fear: how employers should respond to H1N1 in the workplace to avoid human rights violations
Many of you will have heard about the story that hit the news last week of a Manitoba man who was barred from patronizing a restaurant in Seven Sisters, Manitoba because his wife had been diagnosed with the H1N1 flu. The story broke on Richard Cloutier's show on CJOB radio and I was fortunate enough [...]
2009-2010 Manitoba Human Rights Commission Course List
The course list for the 2009-2010 'training season' at the Manitoba Human Rights Commission has just been finalized. As usual, there is a terrific line-up of courses that you can take taught by Commission staff, the Commission's legal counsel and, yours truly. On tap this year for me are my usual courses on "How to Investigate a [...]
Interview: Impact of Ontario accessibility standards on delivery of training in the workplace
I recently had the opportunity to be interviewed for the July 2009 issue of the OHSCompliance and EHSjustice newsletter (a Canadian publication addressing Environmental, Health and Safety News and Legislation which you can find at www.ecolog.com). The focus of the article was on how the standards currently being developed pursuant to the Accessibility for Ontarians with [...]
Having a process AND following it key to meeting duty to accommodate
In the course I teach for the Manitoba Human Rights Commission on “The Duty to Accommodate in the Workplace”, I spend a good chunk of time talking about how important it is for employers to implement a policy/process in their workplaces establishing how they will respond to requests for accommodation by employees. In particular, I talk [...]
Ontario Human Rights Commission updates Policy on Discrimination due to Pregnancy & Breastfeeding
The Ontario Human Rights Commission has released an update of its Policy on Discrimination Because of Pregnancy and Breastfeeding. The update incorporates, among other things, new legal cases relating to pregnancy and pregnancy-related discrimination in employment, services and housing. You'll see from the Table of Contents, that the Policy covers a lot of ground, including:
Code Protections [...]
The danger of complacency: why regular harassment prevention training should be a no-brainer
After letting my blog take a back seat to the flurry of investigation and training work that's been requested of me since mid-April, I'm finally ready to get back to writing! Truly thankful for the work but boy has it been busy!
For today's post I'm actually reflecting back on my recent investigations to discuss why it [...]
New drug testing publications of assistance to employers
Lately, I've been getting a number of inquiries about the legalities of drug testing in the workplace. It's a 'hot issue', particularly in the last few years as some key cases have wound their way through the tribunals and courts. Last month, I was also interviewed on CBC radio as a result of a post [...]
Using social networking sites in hiring process: smart move or human rights trap? Part Three
Today marks our last installment in the series on whether employers should be using the Internet to screen job applicants. (Well, at least it's my last post for now. As I've mentioned before, this is an emerging area of the law so I'm sure there will be more to talk about down the road). If [...]
Using social networking sites in the hiring process: smart move or human rights trap? Part Two
As I discussed in Part One of this series, there appears to be a growing desire amongst employers to conduct searches of social networking sites and on the Internet to find out information about potential job candidates prior to hiring them.
In Part Two of this series, I'm going to discuss some of the legal [...]
