Canadian HR Reporter

PM40065782 RO9496 January 23, 2017 INSIDE The year that was A roundup of some of the major HR-related events covered in Canadian HR Reporter in 2016 Refusing a check New worker's reluctance leads to dismissal page 5 4 generations Understanding differences helps with productivity page 10 Finger sleuthing Using ngerprint screening has its advantages page 14 page 16 Credit: Todd Korol (Reuters) ALL IN A HALF-DAY'S WORK Canadian Pacific Railway CEO Hunter Harrison took home $19,902,453 in total pay in 2015, according to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, which said Canada's CEOs would earn the average worker's full-time wage by 11:47 a.m. on Jan. 3 — half-an-hour earlier than 2016. The average compensation of the top 100 CEOs was $9.5 million. Subscribe today at hrreporter.com/canadian-hr-newswire SIGN UP FOR CANADIAN HR NEWSWIRE Half of workers suff er from 'productivity defi cit': Survey Workload, lack of training, social media partly to blame: Experts BY MARCEL VANDER WIER EMPLOYERS keen to start the new year on the right foot may want to examine a potential "pro- ductivity defi cit" in the workplace. at's because one-half (49 per cent) of Canada's workers said they are less productive at work than they could be, according to a study released by ADP Canada. Leading causes cited by the 1,565 Canadians polled are dis- traction (43 per cent), paralyzing processes (35 per cent) and com- placency (27 per cent). Other fac- tors include boredom and a lack of resources (both 20 per cent), an overwhelming workload (15 per cent) and training shortcomings (10 per cent). e productivity defi cit aff ects both employers and employees, according to Elizabeth Williams, CURBING > pg. 2 Ontario tribunal diverges on family status Says test for discrimination should be same in all cases BY SARAH DOBSON A RECENT human rights case in Ontario has diverged from recent case law when it comes to family status accommodation, suggesting there should not be a diff erent test for family status discrimination than for other forms of discrimi- nation, and limiting human rights protection to legal responsibilities — as opposed to personal choices — imposes an "unduly onerous burden" on applicants. e tribunal also disagreed on the role self-accommodation plays when determining discrimination. The case concerned Tonka Misetich, an employee at Value Village Stores hired in 2006 who developed repetitive strain injury in her left hand and arm, and so was off ered a new position in 2013. But Misetich said the change in hours would be a hardship be- cause she prepared evening meals for her mother, and she was not available to work evenings, week- ends or on-call shifts: "(It) would completely change the terms of my employment. I care for an elderly (86-year-old) parent and my 'fam- ily status' is such that I can only work the above-mentioned shifts." WAS > pg. 6 Weight discrimination goes up for debate in Manitoba legislature But would new regulation really be necessary? BY MARCEL VANDER WIER A MANITOBA politician is aim- ing to ban discrimination based on weight — but one lawyer is ques- tioning whether such legislation is necessary. Liberal member Jon Gerrard recently tabled Bill 200 in the pro- vincial legislature aiming to ban discrimination based on weight. If successful, Manitoba would be the fi rst jurisdiction in Canada to spe- cifi cally ban this type of prejudicial treatment, he said. While Gerrard is a private mem- ber facing a majority Progressive Conservative government, he said he is hopeful that meaningful dis- cussion will occur on his bill dur- ing the spring session. " is would provide, in Mani- toba, an avenue for someone who feels they're being discriminated against to go to the Human Rights Commission and have it looked at, investigated," he said. " e healthy thing about that is it would bring greater awareness… and a clearer defi nition of what is and what's not appropriate, whether it's in the workplace or elsewhere. I think we can have more positive and pro- ductive workplaces." "I would hope that we would see other provinces following suit." Redundant legislation? But Manitoba's human rights code already includes a "catch-all" that doesn't appear uniformly in other provincial human rights codes, said Winnipeg labour lawyer Ken Dolinsky, a partner at Taylor McCaff rey. It describes discrimination as "diff erential treatment of an indi- vidual on the basis of the individ- ual's actual or presumed member- ship in or association with some class or group of persons, rather than on the basis of personal merit." Arguably, with or without spe- cifi c language surrounding weight, the current provincial code already protects workers and citizens from DISCRIMINATION > pg. 8 media partly to blame: Experts media partly to blame: Experts BY MARCEL VANDER WIER EMPLOYERS new year on the right foot may want to examine a potential "pro- ductivity defi cit" in the workplace. cent) of Canada's workers said they are less productive at work than

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