Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER OCTOBER 2019 EMPLOYMENT LAW 5 Get Certified, Hire Certified Becoming or hiring a Payroll Compliance Practitioner (PCP) will give your organization the payroll compliance knowledge and skills needed to succeed. • Like HR credentials, employers respect and seek candidates with payroll certification. • The online PCP certification program is flexible and achievable while working or raising a family. • Hiring a PCP graduate ensures your payroll is compliant and helps avoid fines and penalties. Certification is the smart choice to elevate your payroll career and your payroll team. Sandra B., PCP Payroll and Benefit Specialist Try our free online course demo at payroll.ca "There is not a day that goes by that I do not use the knowledge and skills I learned while pursuing my certification." No discrimination based on family status Ontario worker said shift change interfered with custody arrangement for daughter BY JEFFREY R. SMITH Accommodation is a two-way street — both the employer and the employee must participate in the process. at's why the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal dis- missed a worker's complaint that his family status wasn't accom- modated by an injury-related shift change schedule. Steve Linklater was a coil han- dler technician in Essar Steel Algoma's steel production facil- ity in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. He worked 12-hour shifts on an eight-day rotation — two 12- hour days shifts from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. followed by 24 hours off and then two 12-hour overnight shifts from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. Linklater was separated from his spouse and had joint custody of his young daughter. e custo- dy schedule was arranged around his shift schedule so he could pick up his daughter the morning af- ter his second night shift and keep her for the two nights that he was off before dropping her off either at school in the morning or at her mother's house in the evening. On Jan. 4, 2016, the tip of one of Linklater's fingers on his right hand was crushed between two steel plates. The doctor who treated him wrote a note that in- dicated Linklater would be unable to use his right hand for work — meaning Linklater wouldn't be able to perform the tasks of his coil handler position. Despite his injury, Linklater was assigned to help another worker with tasks. However, it became evident that the modified work wasn't of value and the company determined he would be of better use performing office work. e superintendent in charge of the facility and Linklater's su- pervisor decided to have Linklater speak to all employees about the company's job safety practice manual in the lunchroom. Lin- klater would have to work eight- hour shifts from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. e change reduced Linklat- er's hours to 40 every week from 48 every eight days and he lost a shift premium for working two night shifts every week. Lin- klater objected and said it would also disrupt or impact the time he could spend with his children — though he didn't mention cus- tody access was based on his 12- hour shift schedule. Linklater met with the superin- tendent and said he wanted to stay on 12-hour shifts for "family rea- sons, money." e superintendent said Essar Steel wouldn't pay two people to do one job, so Linklater couldn't remain as a coil handler technician if he could not perform the duties of the position. In ad- dition, it was standard procedure to move injured workers to eight- hour shifts when they were unable to do their regular job. Linklater began working the eight-hour shift on Jan. 13 and unsuccessfully asked again to be moved back to 12-hour shifts, though during the first week, there was no conflict with the cus- tody order. Eventually, his union sent an email on Jan. 22 outlining Linklater's "court-ordered access to a child which he is now not able to follow because of a schedule change" and requested a return to the 12-hour shift schedule. e first conflict with the cus- tody order happened on Jan. 25. Because his eight-hour shift start- ed at 7 a.m., Linklater had to ar- range for his ex-wife to pick their daughter up the previous evening, costing him a night and a morning with her. Linklater met with the super- intendent and his supervisor on Jan. 27 to discuss options. ey asked Linklater to come up with a different solution, but he in- sisted the 12-hour shifts were the only thing that would work with his custody order. Management agreed to return him to 12-hour shifts once he had medical clear- ance, so Linklater returned to the Jeffrey Smith Legal View EMPLOYER'S > pg.12 Credit: By Focused Adventures (shutterstock) The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal dismissed a worker's complaint about family status accommodation at Essar Steel Algoma in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.

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