Canadian Employment Law Today

PM40065782 Emplo y ment Law Today Canad ad a ian www.employmentlawtoday.com March 15, 2017 Work reduction after request for less stressful environment may have been discriminatory A BRITISH COLUMBIA employer's attempt to have an epileptic employee's complaint of discrimination based on disability for a work reduction following customer complaints has been rejected by the province's human rights tribunal. Roger Hall was hired in August 2011 to be a door shop labourer for Mara Lumber, a home improvement and building supply store in Kelowna, B.C. His job duties in- volved customer service, mixing paint, and various things in the door shop. When he was hired, Hall informed Mara that he had epilepsy and could have seizures, but they were infrequent and controlled by medication. Mara helped Hall by adjusting his hours and work conditions to ensure he had a safe working environment. Hall appre- ciated the company's acceptance of his epi- lepsy and wrote a letter to Mara's president and staff in January 2012 thanking them. In June 2012, Hall's duties changed to fur- ther accommodate his needs. He became a contractor hanging doors in the door shop, using his own tools, setting his own hours and pace. A short time after Hall began his contrac- tor work, the company discovered he had been starting work at 3 a.m. Hall said it was quieter then and helped him with his dis- ability. He said he could get more work done and he found it less stressful. Mara's owner agreed to allow Hall to work in the door shop from 3 a.m. to 11 a.m. Later in 2012, the North American Fen- estration Standard (NAFS) came into eff ect, setting out specifi cations for manufactured and pre-assembled doors, windows, and skylights. Since Hall was Mara's only door hanger, he was expected to learn NAFS. However, he refused and Mara had to start buying NAFS doors instead. is caused its prices to increase and sales to decline. About two years later, in May 2014, Mara told Hall it was concerned with his safety when he worked by himself in the early Injured employee's dismissal not discriminatory Small employer didn't have modifi ed work available and sincerely believed worker submitted false medical note BY JEFFREY R. SMITH AN ONTARIO employer did not discriminate against an injured worker when it didn't have work to fi t his restrictions and later fi red him for what it believed to be a fraudulent medical note, the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has found. Pardeep Chodha was an assembler for Times Kitchen and Bath, a producer of kitchen and bathroom cabinetry in Toronto. Chodha was hired on April 21, 2014. A few weeks into his employment with Times Kitchen — on June 2 — Chodha was moving a heavy piece of cabinetry with a co- worker when he starting feeling pain in his back. He left work to see his doctor, who re- ferred him to a chiropractor. On June 4, he provided a note from the chiropractor and applied for workers' compensation benefi ts. e doctor's note — which Chodha pre- CREDIT: TIPPAPATT/SHUTTERSTOCK Employer mistakes employee's storming out as resignation pg. 3 Passive acceptance of long-term employee's perceived resignation not enough Trends in workplace whistleblowing — An HR primer pg. 4 The patchwork of legal protection for employee whistleblowers across Canada is getting denser ASK AN EXPERT pg. 2 Employee misconduct: The threshold for dismissal with Tim Mitchell WORKER on page 6 » CONCERNS on page 7 »

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