Employers, Pay Attention: Google Searches Will Not Replace Tailored Accommodation

Recently, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO or the tribunal) released a decision wherein the employer failed to meet its duty to accommodate an employee diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Brief Facts

The respondent, Method Integration Inc., (Method) hired the applicant, Ronen Gaisiner, as a Customization Solutions Specialist in December, 2011. In March, 2012, Gaisiner was terminated. Gaisiner alleged that Method discriminated against him because of his ADHD and failed to fulfill its duty to accommodate, contrary to the Human Rights Code (the Code). Method denied that it breached the Code. It argued that it terminated Gaisiner because he did not have the technical ability to perform the duties of his job and that it provided reasonable accommodations for his disability; any further accommodations would have caused the company undue hardship.