Reference no: EM133523662
Assignment:
1. What must an employee demonstrate to establish a "prima facie" case of discrimination? If an employee can demonstrate this, does it mean that the employer has violated the human rights legislation?
2. The Human Rights Code provides a number of exemptions, exceptions or defences to apparent discrimination in employment. What are they and where are they found in the HRC?
3. What is the Duty to Accommodate and when is it triggered? Are there any guidelines as to how far one must go in exercising this duty? In the HRC? In Case Law?
4. Under the HRC, discrimination is not allowed in the Hiring Process, but it is treated differently depending on the stage of process. How is it treated differently? What is the source of your information?
5. After Seneca v Bhadauria, we know that there is no right to sue civilly for a Tort of Discrimination.
a) Where, in the HRC, do we find that knowledge that you cannot bring a civil lawsuit for discrimination supported?
b) Does a civil court have any ability to deal with discrimination?
c) What are the differences in the powers a civil court has versus the powers the Human Rights Tribunal has?
6. Is an employee entitled to insist on his or her preferred method of accommodation?
7. Describe the three-step test developed by the Supreme Court of Canada in the Meiorin decision. At what step did the employer fail in that case, and why?
8. Describe the key factors that are considered in assessing whether accommodation would impose "undue hardship."
9. In what circumstance does the duty to accommodate in employment arise in human rights law?
10. Describe the four-step process that should be applied by an employer when assessing whether accommodation of an employee's disability is possible.
11. A mortgage broker's office in Toronto has a policy of not hiring family members of existing employees. The rationale for the policy is that family members may have greater loyalty to family than to the employer, and since theft of money is a major concern for the employer, the policy is for security reasons. Saeed is denied a job by the employer because his father works for the employer, and he files a human rights complaint. Applying the two-step human rights model, discuss whether Saeed's complaint is likely to succeed.
12. A restaurant introduces a new rule prohibiting employees who interact with customers from wearing hats at work, explaining that customers have complained that hats look unprofessional in a restaurant setting. Janelle wears baseball caps all the time and she is pissed off. Noah is Jewish and wears a kippah (religious head-covering). Both employees are servers, and they inform the employer that they have a right to keep wearing their hats. When the employer insists that the head gear be removed, both employees file a human rights complaint. Discuss whether those complaints will succeed in your opinion.
REFERENCES:
The Law of Work, 2nd Edition (2020) by David J. Doorey, published by Emond Montgomery Publications.
Chapter: Introduction to Human Rights at Work
Chapter: The Two-Step Human Rights Model and the Prohibited Grounds of Discrimination
Chapter: The Bona Fide Occupational Requirement, the Duty to Accommodate
Click Your Guide to the Ontario Human Rights Code
The Human Rights Code