As employers begin to turn their minds to reopening, it is an
ideal time to revisit some basics of employment law best practices.
This week, we'll review another key issue for employers –
the duty to accommodate.
Most employers are well aware of their duty under the Ontario
Human Rights Code ("OHRC") to accommodate
protected characteristics of employees, such as disability or
family status, to the point of undue hardship. However, any
employer who has been involved in the accommodation process knows
that it can be difficult to successfully navigate.
One area where employers often fall short is the procedural duty
to accommodate. In Ontario, a procedural failure on the part of the
employer can lead to a finding that there has been a breach of the
OHRC, even if there was no substantive accommodation that could
have been provided short of undue hardship. In order to satisfy
this procedural obligation, employers are required to inquire into
an employee's accommodation
