On December 7, 2009, the Manitoba Human Rights Board of Adjudication rendered a decision in Penner v. Fort Garry Services Inc. in relation to a complaint of discrimination in employment on the basis of criminal record. This is the first decision from Manitoba that I am aware of that tackles this thorny issue.
The Facts:
The complainant, [...]
Human Rights Law in Canadian Workplaces
Category Archives: Discrimination
No discrimination found regarding termination of Manitoba employee with criminal record
Pregnancy discrimination in the workplace still a very live issue
In a recent Globe and Mail article discussing a similarly recent decision of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario relating to a young woman who had been fired by her employer after finding out she was pregnant, the following advice was given:
"…it's wise for women to think strategically about when to disclose a pregnancy to [...]
Lack of accommodation on return to work has food service company eating crow
In Tofflemire v. Metro (Windsor) Enterprises Inc., the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario examined the efforts made by a food and drink services company to accommodate a long-serving employee upon his return-to-work after having a heart transplant. The Tribunal determined that the company's efforts were woefully inadequate and awarded damages to the employee as a result.
The Facts
Mr. [...]
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 [...]
Twitter Talk – August 24, 2009
I'm thankful I was able to get out with my family yesterday and enjoy our one whole day of summer yesterday! (We almost didn't recognize the blue sky and sun when it showed up in the morning). Today, we got hit by a thunderstorm which had me wondering if we were going to leave the [...]
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 [...]
On “boobie girls”, retaliation and bad decisions
Having moved to a new house and home office and having ’sort of’ settled, I’m back to thinking about blogging again. First on my list was to tackle a decision that was kindly brought to my attention some time ago now by David Doorey over at Doorey’s Workplace Law Blog. It’s a decision that I think [...]
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 [...]
Decision to replace homecare worker not discrimination
In McEvoy v. Best Care Ltd. the Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal tackles the question of whether the termination of the employment of a female home care worker prior to her return-to-work after maternity leave constituted discrimination on the basis of sex. The decision is of interest for the approach the court takes to examining the facts [...]
