Workplace Investigations: 5 Basic but Important Tips

There has been no shortage of high-profile workplace investigations and discussions surrounding the outcome of those investigations in the news over the past year. But what happens when you’re no longer reading about the investigation in the news and you’re suddenly at the center of one in your workplace? 

Workplace Investigations: 5 Basic but Important Tips

Whether you’re an employer who is considering whether investigating is really necessary or an employee who has asked for or been named in an investigation, read on for five basic but important tips:

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Navigating Disability Accommodation Requests: Balancing Privacy and Information

Accommodating employees with disabilities and medical issues is an integral part of creating an inclusive and equitable workplace. But what should an employer do if they receive a request for accommodation that does not provide enough information? How can we balance an employee’s right to privacy with an employer’s need for sufficient information to assess an accommodation request?

Navigating Disability Accommodation Requests: Balancing Privacy and Information

What is the duty to accommodate? 

Under the Ontario Human Rights Code, employers have a legal duty to accommodate the needs of people with disabilities. This duty has both a procedural and a substantive component. This means that both the procedure used to assess the accommodation and the actual substance of the accommodation provided are important for employers to fulfill their duty. 

However, the duty to accommodate is not absolute. Employers must accommodate to the point of undue hardship. Employers do not need to provide an accommodation if it would cause undue or excessive hardship, such as onerous costs or health and safety risks. 

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Navigating Employee Accommodations in the Post-Pandemic Workplace

Navigating Employee Accommodations in the Post-Pandemic WorkplaceBack to Sweaters, School, and the Office – Oh My! 

For many, September marks the start of a new year. Yes, yes, we know January is the real first month of the year but September marks the end of summer holidays, kids going back to school, and many workforces who had modified summer schedules tend to resume their regular working hours in the Fall. While these used to be pretty standard and expected changes pre-pandemic, employees are now finding these organizational shifts to be more challenging than ever. In turn, employers are facing new accommodation issues and are trying to keep up. From employees wanting to work from home to family obligations to mental health and stress, here is everything you need to know about accommodating your employees. 

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Religious Accommodation & Vaccination – What’s the deal?

In the context of the increasing prevalence of vaccine mandates, employee requests for accommodation on religious grounds are becoming common. Religious beliefs and practices and the resulting accommodation requests can be varied and tricky. Today we will take a look at what employers should know and do about requests for accommodation based on religion. 

What Do Employers Need to Accommodate?

Human rights legislation across Canada provides employees with protections from discrimination on the basis of creed or religious beliefs or practices. Employers must accommodate up to the point of undue hardship. 

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HRTO: Employer Liability for Proper Pronoun Use

HRTO: Employer Liability for Proper Pronoun Use

Photo by Just Jack on Unsplash

Background

In a recent decision, EN v Gallagher’s Bar and Lounge, 2021 HRTO 240 (CanLII), the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (the “HRTO”) found that an employer discriminated against three of his employees based on their gender identities, gender expressions, and sex by subjecting them to trans-and homophobic language, intentional outing, and by misgendering them through his refusal to use their preferred pronouns. 

The three Applicants, referred to as EN, JR, and FH, were kitchen employees at a restaurant managed by its owner, Jamie Gallagher; each identified as either genderqueer or non-binary, using the chosen pronouns ”they/them.” They openly requested to be addressed with these pronouns. 

The Allegations 

The Applicants alleged that, despite their requests, the owner refused to use their correct pronouns, instead repeatedly misgendering them and suggesting he had to “walk on eggshells” around them. As well, the Applicants overheard the owner, Mr. Gallagher, speaking with customers out in the open dining room/bar area, referring to the kitchen staff with transphobic slurs, calling them “trannies.” 

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Workplace Harassment: the Employer’s Duty

Occupational health and safety legislation in Ontario protects workers from the risk and harm of harassment at work. Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) employers have a legal duty to guard against and correct workplace harassment no matter how small the team. 

Here are some things to keep in mind regarding workplace safety and the employer’s obligations. 

Harassment Can Go By Many Names

Bullying is harassment. Employees sometimes think that the form of harassment they are facing is less serious than the harassment that OHSA targets. But any euphemism for harassment, like bullying or mocking, doesn’t make it less harmful to workplace health and safety. Even lighthearted bullying can count as harassment under OHSA and the employer will have a duty to prevent and act on it. OHSA says that:

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