An employer's breach of its procedural duty to accommodate
was a significant factor in the decision to uphold a human rights
application in Sears v Honda of Canada Mfg., 2014 HRTO 45. The employee, whose job
it was to spot vehicle defects on a computer screen, began to
experience increasingly serious performance issues due to vision
problems. The problems had been evident for more than a year
before the employer took measures to accommodate him. When he
sought additional assistance, he was terminated.
The termination was found to have been motivated at least in
part by the employee's perceived dissatisfaction with the
employer's accommodation efforts and by his assertion of his
rights under the Human Rights Code. The Tribunal found
that the employer was aware, from the employee's initial
employment application and his subsequent performance difficulties
and requests for assistance, that his colour blindness and myopia
were causing problems. The employer breached
