Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER February 20, 2017 12 NEWS LOOKING FOR A SUPPLIER OR VENDOR? Visit hrreporter.com/hr-vendors-guide Every two weeks Canadian HR Reporter hits the desks of HR management decision-makers across Canada. By providing real-world solutions to perplexing HR situations, we give you the tools and information to make more calculated decisions. STAY CURRENT. GET AHEAD. STAY AHEAD. To order your subscription call 1.800.387.5164 | 416.609.3800 www.hrreporter.com/subscribe Subscribe today for only $175 Order No. 20610-17 PM40065782 RO9496 September 5, 2016 INSIDE FIGHTING FRAUD Insurance fraud prevention requires a joint approach between plan sponsors and insurers CCHRA partners up Agreements with SHRM, CERC formalize relationships page 2 Pink hair Starbucks' relaxed dress code part of growing trend page 3 Mental health More integrated approach needed to help people page 13 page 15 ENFORCEMENT > pg. 8 Pokemon GO presents challenges for employers But risks can be managed eff ectively: Experts BY LIZ BERNIER POKEMON GO, the mobile game that's sweeping smartphones of the nation, has seen a meteoric rise in popularity. And just as the game has blurred boundaries be- tween public and private space, it has also blurred boundaries be- tween work and play. Many employees are taking the mobile game — among oth- ers — to work with them, and that has the potential to create issues for employers, according to Erin Kuzz, founding member of law fi rm Sherrard Kuzz in Toronto. Chief among the risks are safety and security concerns, and pro- ductivity challenges, he said. "When I turn my mind to the workplace issues that are raised by Pokemon Go and some of these related apps and games, two things are particularly glaring," said Kuzz. "Number one is the security is- sues where people are download- ing any kind of app or external game onto their phone, and that could be a phone that is used for work purposes — whether it's an employer-owned device or a BYOD (bring-your-own device) that's been approved for use in the workplace — it creates security issues." With Pokemon Go, there are counterfeit or non-genuine ver- sions that have been found to con- tain malware, she said. "When you have employees po- tentially exposing the employer's system to malware… it's an issue," she said. "Employers have to think about how they want to tackle this very quickly. "My advice would be to prohibit use of anything like that on a work device — because you just can't control what happens if someone downloads malware." Many of the risks are around cyber security, said Leah Fochuk, consulting services manager at HR consulting fi rm Salopek & Associ- ates in Calgary. "Because you sign up through Google, the app is really capturing a lot of sensitive data," she said. Companies that use BYOD of- ten deal in sensitive or confi dential information and defi nitely need to be aware of those risks. "Even when you're downloading it, if people are downloading the app not from offi cial vendors, the risk of introducing malware could potentially aff ect your entire net- work," said Fochuk. "On the IT side, there are some pretty big risks that would need to be managed." Also, there are potential safety hazards when it comes to distrac- tion or trespassing. "Players are practising distract- ed walking: eir heads are down, they're not necessarily seeing where they're going," said Fochuk. "As a company, you would hate to have something happen on your Ontario looking to make changes to labour laws Card-based certifi cation, precarious work, better enforcement among concerns BY JOHN DUJAY IN a massive undertaking, the On- tario government is looking to up- date not one but two labour laws with its Changing Workplaces Review. First proposed in 2015, the re- view would see the province's 1995 Labour Relations Act and 2000 Em- ployment Standards Act updated. "It's important our laws refl ect the realities of the modern econ- omy, and that's why we're consult- ing with people in communities across the province and reviewing our legislation," said Minister of Labour Kevin Flynn. Led by lawyer Michael Mitchell and former justice of the Ontario Superior Court John Murray, the review received more than 300 written submissions and met with various labour and employer groups. e co-chairs released an interim report in July. e 312-page report touches on a variety of issues relevant to em- ployers and labour groups. e Ontario Federation of La- bour (OFL) has been waiting quite some time for the changes, said OFL president Chris Buckley. "It's a springboard for a once-in- a-generation opportunity to bring sweeping changes to Ontario's employment laws and to make it fair for every worker across the province." If the exercise was to poke at as many of the issues as possible, it's achieved that goal, said labour and employment lawyer Craig Rix at Hicks Morley in Toronto. "What I see mostly in the re- port is a longstanding list of like- to-have proposals that have largely come from organized labour." Slap on the wrist for TTC's social media account Greater care needed: Arbitrator BY SARAH DOBSON THE Toronto Transit Commis- sion (TTC) found itself in hot water recently when an arbitrator ruled one of its Twitter accounts contributed to the harassment of employees and needed to be changed — but not shut down. In his decision, arbitrator Rob- ert Howe said social media sites operated by the TTC could be considered to constitute part of the workplace. And a number of the tweets on @TTChelps consti- tute harassment. "It is clear from the totality of the evidence that the TTC has failed to take all reasonable and practical measures to protect bar- gaining unit employees from that type of harassment by members of FIXED > pg. 6 INAPPROPRIATE > pg. 10 Pavlo Farmakidis (left), recruitment co-ordinator at Woodbine Entertainment Group in Toronto, and Mark Diker, senior manager of recruitment and talent planning, ran a job fair using Pokemon Go that attracted about 500 candidates. See page 18. Subscribe Today! CALL TOLL FREE 1-800-387-5164 ONLINE AT www.employmentlawtoday.com/subscribe Emplo y ment Law Today Canad a ian www.employmentlawtoday.com cent of Canadians with disabilities are unemployed, compared to 79 per cent of the general population. Statistics Canada found similar results two years ago. at means more than 400,000 working-age adults with physical or mental disabilities are unem- ployed across the country, de- spite their willingness to work, said Michael Prince, a social pol- icy professor at the University of Victoria. "e statistics haven't changed, so we still have a long way to go," he said. "I think we are starting to see a shift towards greater aware- ness. But within our own com- munities, we have thousands of Canadians who are maybe not getting job interviews. ere's still a lot of basic learning that needs to take place." More than one-third (37 per cent) of the 1,002 respondents to the survey are unemployed, despite actively looking, while 11 per cent do not work because they prefer to be at home or school. (e poll refers to disability as individual functioning, including long-term or recurring physical, mental, sensory, psychiatric or learning limitations.) And when it comes to finding a job, just 23 per cent of those sur- veyed said they were comfortable disclosing a disability to a pro- spective employer. While human resources de- partments may have policies for diversity and equity in place, those are often constrained to vis- ible minorities and gender, said Prince. Society's attitude towards disabled workers is gradually soft- ening, he said, but there's a long way to go in terms of quelling "sys- temic" discrimination. "Disability still seems to be the Cinderella of this issue. It's kind of the forgotten sister." How can HR help? Going forward, HR needs to open- ly share best practice methods with colleagues and peers, work on hir- ing policies to make them more comprehensive, as well as reach out to disability groups within their community to seek potential recruits, said Prince. If serious about spurring change and recruiting from the disabled talent pool, HR needs to go to where those workers are, said James Hicks, national direc- tor of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities in Ottawa. "If they keep leaving it to ap- plications that come in through regular job postings, I don't know that they're going to get a lot of people," he said. CIBC recently announced it would hire 500 disabled employ- ees this year. "We really are of the view that, as an organization, we benefit from having different people, dif- ferent perspectives," said Laura Dottori-Attanasio, the bank's se- nior executive vice-president in Toronto. Tapping into an oft-overlooked talent pool will help the company deliver stronger productivity and financial results, she said. "It just makes really good business sense." When it comes to the em- ployment stats, the numbers should not be this high, said Dottori-Attanasio. "A large part of what we need to do, along with other businesses, is remove those barriers to employ- ment. We've got a whole untapped reserve of talent that we would all benefit from having… is is really about seeing the ability in people." Aside from empathy, diversity and social corporate responsibil- ity, companies need to understand why hiring disabled workers can also make sense for the bottom line, she said. That may mean educating the current workforce to ensure buy-in. "If you're in human resources, you can offer the right supports, but you need all of your colleagues in the different departments to want to do the same thing as well. Otherwise, it won't happen." Partnering with appropriate or- ganizations to aid in the recruit- ment process can also make sense, said Dottori-Attanasio, as CIBC worked with Magnet, a Toronto- based web network that connects disabled jobseekers to employers. "Persons with disabilities need to be hired more broadly and ho- listically across organizations, and should be in visible, customer- facing roles," said Mark Patterson, Magnet's executive director. "We need to do a better job of showcas- ing the ability of people that may have a disability in customer-fac- ing roles." Smaller businesses without an HR department may not have di- versity policies in place and could face unknowns when looking to hire disabled employees, he said. Perceived difficulties may cause companies to shy away from do- ing so. "When you take the opportunity to interact and get to know people that are different than yourselves, the fears go away," said Patterson. "It's really about identifying the fits and making sure the supports are in place, no matter who you are as an employee. If you think about it, we're all accommodated every day in our employment." Many employers think it's a hassle to accommodate and hold on to misconceptions regarding potential effects on the bottom line, said Hicks. "e reality is that Canada has a lot of small employers," he said. "ere's more restrictions on them, based on finances, if there's an ac- commodation that costs money." e average cost of accommo- dation for disabled workers — if required — is $400, said Patterson. Legislation, litigation, education But more substantive work needs to be done to address this issue, said experts. Canadian policymakers should look to Europe for guidance on how to remove systemic barriers from the workplace, said David Baker, disability lawyer at Baker- Law in Toronto. "ere is nothing in place, as there is in Europe, to provide employers with incentives to hire people with disabilities," he said. "In Germany… there is a financial incentive to hire people with more severe disabilities." Ontario did implement the Employment Equity Act in 1993, but it was quickly repealed by incoming premier Mike Harris, who claimed the law undermined merit-based hiring, said Baker. In lieu of future legislation, employers need to be aware of the potential for human rights lawsuits on behalf of disabled Ca- nadians, specifically in terms of unlawful dismissal. "The damage awards are in- creasing and will continue to in- crease," he said. "e question is: When are employers going to get smarter and recognize that it's in their interest to address these issues in a prospective fashion rather than a litigative fashion?" Tax dollars should be levied to- wards educating employers and ensuring employees have the per- sonal equipment necessary to suc- cessfully do their job, said Hicks. "ere's a need to empower the person with the disability to be the holder of their accommodations, as opposed to the employer being the holder," he said. Alongside governmental lead- ership, education of the next gen- eration is critical, said Prince. "I would focus on youth and education… a grassroots initia- tive, kind of a bottom-up as op- posed to one of these top-down, big national strategies," he said. "at probably takes longer and isn't as glamorous-sounding, but that's the way it's going to stick and work." ere are many success stories that have resulted out of company decisions to hire disabled work- ers, said Patterson. "ere are times when legisla- tion is important, but I think it's a multi-prong approach. For me, it's about telling the stories well and getting the word out to other em- ployers about this population that has the desire to contribute to the success of people's businesses that is being overlooked right now." Currently, Ontario's govern- ment spends more than $4 billion annually on income support for persons with disabilities — many of whom are both capable and actively looking for work, he said. Educate workforce to ensure greater buy-in DISABILITIES < pg. 1 "When are employers going to get smarter and recognize that it's in their interest to address these issues in a prospective fashion rather than a litigative fashion?"

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