employer's duty

Looks at the perspective of persons with disabilities to identify the factors that influence their employee duty of disclosure; concerns that are considered when deciding to disclose, such as the unfair negative stigma often received, isolation or lowered expectations; highlighting barriers in the workplace that should be removed in order to address and circumvent such disclosure considerations. 

Outlines what is required by an employee to disclose as part of the accommodation process, as well as the employer's duty to maintain privacy of medical documents provided. 

General overview of main human rights values in employment; disability law; leading principles of accommodation, undue hardship , legitimate operational requirements of a workplace, responsibilities of unions in employment disputes; employees responsibilities. 

View of adjudicator's attempt to balance between right to privacy and right to information regarding accommodation needs; discusses cases where employee refuses to provide the necessary documents during the process.

Discussion of Pourasadi v Bentley Leathers decision of the HRTO, in which employer's duty to accommodate did not extend to permanently altering the essential duties of the position, or to assigning the essential duties to other employees; physical restrictions in the workplace. 

A look at Section 13 of the British Columbia Human Rights Code through the Rsh v BC HRTO case, covering the employer's duty to accommodate. Union involvement from the Richmond Firefighters Association represented bagining unit employees in the City of Richmond's Fire Department. 

Article filters through human rights disclosure rulings in Canada; concern with levels of confidentiality awarded to persons with disabilities when providing disclosure of medical information. 

A reflection of what Canadian legal institutions still need to work on when providing guidance on what employers need to do to establish equal opportunities; anti-discrimination law as it stands are primarly reactive and thus not uniform in providing appropriate accommodations in the Canadian workforce.

The article provides a useful canvass of the junction of long term disability insurance and human rights obligations. It points out insures duties and potential grounds of possible liability (breach of contract in the accommodation process, participation or complicity in discrimination, breach of the duty to act in good faith). 

Using an approach to age discrimination that values the equal concern and treatment of at any point in time of their lives (labeled the 'Dignified Lives Approach'); argues that the duty to accommodate younger workers with disabilities should equally apply to seniors with disabilities, and that the duty to accommodate senior workers should include any age-related needs apart from direct disability concerns.