Tag archives: disability

Check-in for a Check-up – An Employer’s Duty to Make Inquiries

By Taryn Mackie on October 13, 2019 Posted in Canada

Excessive absenteeism is one of the most difficult issues facing human resource professionals today. It is also one of the more complex areas of labour and employment law. One of the reasons why excessive absenteeism is so complicated is because it often raises human rights implications. The perfect example is found in Coast Mountain Bus … Continue reading

It Takes Two to Tango: Employee-duties in the Accommodation Process

By Taryn Mackie on June 27, 2018 Posted in Canada

In 2012, Statistics Canada reported that 11% of the population aged 25 to 64 (or 2.1 million people) reported having limitations caused by a physical or mental disability, with conditions ranging from hearing loss, to visual impairment, to mobility challenges, to pain, to mental health conditions. As our population ages, disability-related conditions are only projected … Continue reading

Local doesn’t make the grade: The need to accommodate employees with anxiety when writing qualifying exams

By Lauren Berdock on October 17, 2017 Posted in Canada, Discrimination and harassment, North America

John Betts, (the “Applicant”) was a carpenter and member of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Local 1256 (the “Union”). While the parties were not engaged in a traditional employer-employee relationship, the Applicant was protected from discrimination by the employment related sanctions of the Ontario Human Rights Code (the “Code”). Like most … Continue reading

Key employment law developments expected in 2017

By Jannis Breitschwerdt on February 9, 2017 Posted in Contracts, General, Germany

A significant amount of new employment legislation is expected or is already in place for 2017. Key changes will be in the hiring of temporary workers through an agency (referred to as “personnel leasing” in Germany), employee protection and equal treatment. Reform of laws regarding personnel leasing One of the main developments in 2017 will … Continue reading

Recent changes to the law on the dismissal of severely disabled employees

By Anja Lingscheid on January 16, 2017 Posted in Europe, Germany

In Germany, as of 1 January 2017, various amendments to the law on severely disabled persons came into force. Of particular importance is a new regulation relating to the dismissal of severely disabled employees. Until the recent changes came into force, before the dismissal of a severely disabled employee the representative body for severely disabled … Continue reading

Minnesota addresses architectural barriers to public places: 2016 amendments to its Human Rights Act

By Margaret Rudolph (US) and Barbara D'Aquila on June 20, 2016 Posted in Discrimination and harassment, United States

Introduction Minnesota businesses may soon see differences in disability access claims. On May 22, 2016, Minnesota’s Governor Mark Dayton signed into law a new amendment to the Minnesota Human Rights Act (“MHRA”). The amendment governs what must occur before attorneys can bring suit under the MHRA challenging architectural barriers that limit accessibility to public spaces. … Continue reading

The precious help of the occupational health physician in dismissal for disability procedures

By Judicaël Fouquet on April 1, 2016 Posted in Europe, France

As a general principle, the occupational health physician is a major interlocutor of the employer regarding the employees’ health and safety. In particular, there exists a very specific procedure under which employees’ disability must be acknowledged by the occupational health physician in order to authorize an employer to begin a dismissal procedure. However, such opinion of … Continue reading

Disability – what protection from discrimination do disabled employees have in France?

By Judicaël Fouquet on October 31, 2014 Posted in Discrimination and harassment, Europe, France

As a preliminary comment, it should be observed that disabled employees who carry out their professional activity in a normal working environment are considered as full-fledged employees and thus benefit from the same rights as any employee. Moreover, and in any event, an employee is never obliged to disclose his/her disability situation to his/her employer. … Continue reading

Disability – what protection from discrimination do disabled employees have in Germany?

By Annegret Müller-Mundt on October 30, 2014 Posted in Discrimination and harassment, Europe, Germany

In Germany, discriminating against disabled employees is prohibited by the General Equal Treatment Act (Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz). This law provides very comprehensive protection against discrimination of any kind. In addition, severely disabled employees have special rights and protection under the German Social Code (Sozialgesetzbuch IX). 1 General Equal Treatment Act As this law transposed a European … Continue reading

Disability – what protection from discrimination do disabled employees have in the UK?

By Claire Darbourne (UK) on October 29, 2014 Posted in Discrimination and harassment, Europe, UK

Before the Disability Discrimination Act came into force in 1996, there was no specific protection from discrimination for disabled employees in the UK. The law on disability discrimination is now set out in the Equality Act 2010 (“the Act”) which provides for protection from discrimination in the workplace on the grounds of a number of … Continue reading

Are disabled employees under Venezuelan labour legislation protected from discrimination?

By Yanet Aguiar on October 28, 2014 Posted in Discrimination and harassment, Latin America, Venezuela

Yes, disabled employees are protected against discrimination in Venezuela pursuant to the Disable Person’s Law and the Organic Law on Prevention, Working Conditions, and the Work Environment. In fact, there is an express prohibition of discrimination by reason of incapacity. The purpose of the Disabled Persons’ Law is to establish the rules according to which disabled persons … Continue reading

Case Brief: On dismissal of a drug user with an unacknowledged dependency

By Michael Torrance on October 21, 2014 Posted in Canada, Discrimination and harassment

In 2012, we referenced a case in which a complainant, terminated for breach of his employer’s drug and alcohol policy, failed to establish that the termination was discriminatory: 2012 AHRC 7. The policy at issue in the case distinguished between employees who had voluntarily disclosed addictions and those who were identified only after a breach … Continue reading

Discrimination Found Where Lay-Off Decision Did Not Consider Disability

By Michael Torrance on September 26, 2014 Posted in Canada, Discrimination and harassment

In the recent decision Besner v Deputy Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development the Public Service Staffing Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) held it was discriminatory to lay-off a disabled employee after she was selected by the retention and lay-off process (“SERLO”). The complainant was an Administrative Co-ordinator with Human Resources and Skills Development Canada suffering … Continue reading

Is obesity a disability?

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on August 14, 2014 Posted in Discrimination and harassment, Europe, General, UK

This post was contributed by Catrina Smith, Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP (London) The Advocate General’s opinion in a recent European case has raised speculation that severe obesity could be considered a protected characteristic under the UK Equality Act 2010 and as such an employee could claim disability discrimination on the grounds of their obesity. … Continue reading