Articles

In yet another ground-breaking decision of potentially broad application to Ontario workplaces, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario determined that imposing a requirement that job applicants prove they are permanently eligible to work in Canada is discriminatory

The Ontario Court of Appeal has held that an employer may not deny payment of a bonus during the notice period unless the company policy of not paying the bonus is clearly expressed in a document governing the bonus payment scheme

A recent decision of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, Aitchison v L&L Painting and Decorating Ltd, 2018 HRTO 238, confirmed that employees do not have an absolute right to smoke marijuana, medical or otherwise, in the workplace. The Tribunal held that the employer’s “zero tolerance” policy was not discriminatory, as it did not impose automatic termination of employment for violations of the policy. Employers are advised to revisit drug and alcohol policies to ensure that any “zero tolerance” type polices do not lead to automatic termination of employment without any flexibility with respect to requests for accommodation. Further, in light of the pending legalization of recreational marijuana use in Ontario, such policies should be amended to contemplate recreational use of legal substances.