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ARTICLE · 02 APRIL 2021

Accommodation Is Not Required For Personal Objections To Mask-Wearing Rules

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There are public health requirements in Ontario to enforce mask-wearing in many public places and workplaces to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

CanadaEmployment and HR
Justin P’Ng
Justin P’Ng
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There are public health requirements in Ontario to enforce mask-wearing in many public places and workplaces to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission. This has sometimes resulted in situations where an individual cannot or does not want to comply. In these cases, employers must determine whether they are required to accommodate the individual and to what extent. A recent decision by the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, Sharma v. Toronto (City), confirms that it is only necessary to accommodate refusals that are based on a protected ground under the Ontario Human Rights Code (the "Code") and not refusals based on personal objections.

The Facts

The Applicant filed a human rights application against the City of Toronto for enacting a By-Law that required publicly accessible businesses and other establishments to only permit access to members of the public wearing a mask or face covering (referred together in this article as "masks"). The Applicant claimed

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