Discrimination based on Disability and the Duty to Accommodate: Information for Employers

Summary

This resource provided by the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) focuses on discrimination based on disability and the duty to accommodate in the workplace. It offers valuable information and guidance for employers in Ontario who want to create an equitable workspace and comply with human rights legislation. By understanding and implementing the duty to accommodate, employers can ensure equal treatment and opportunities for employees with disabilities. The resource addresses key concepts, legal obligations, and best practices related to disability accommodation, fostering inclusivity and preventing discrimination in the workplace.

Key Findings

• Equal rights and opportunities: The Code ensures equal rights, opportunities, and freedom from discrimination for all individuals in Ontario. It covers various social areas, including employment, housing, goods, facilities and services, contracts, and membership in unions or professional associations.
• Employment rights for people with disabilities: People with disabilities have the right to the same opportunities and benefits in employment as everyone else. The Code prohibits discrimination based on disability throughout the employment relationship, including recruitment, training, promotions, job assignments, and return-to-work situations.
• Broad definition of disability: “Disability” is interpreted broadly and includes past, present, and perceived conditions. It encompasses visible and invisible disabilities, as well as episodic disabilities with periods of wellness and disability.
• Discrimination and ableism: Discrimination against people with disabilities is often linked to ableism, which refers to societal attitudes that devalue and limit the potential of people with disabilities. Discrimination can be intentional or unintentional, and a person’s disability needs to be only one factor in the treatment they received for discrimination to have occurred.
• Forms of discrimination: Discrimination can take various forms, including excluding people with disabilities from employment opportunities, withholding benefits, imposing extra burdens, or engaging in indirect discrimination through other individuals or organizations. Discrimination can also occur based on a combination of identities, placing individuals at a unique disadvantage.
• Harassment and poisoned environment: Harassment involves distressing or annoying patterns of behavior based on a person’s disability, and it can include slurs, name-calling, ridicule, intrusive questioning, or isolating individuals. A poisoned environment may result from widespread unwelcome comments or conduct that creates a hostile atmosphere for individuals with disabilities.
• Systemic discrimination: Systemic or institutional discrimination refers to attitudes, behavior, policies, or practices embedded in social or administrative structures that create or perpetuate disadvantages for people with disabilities. These may appear neutral but have adverse effects or exclusionary impacts.
• Duty to accommodate: Employers have a duty to accommodate the needs of people with disabilities to the point of undue hardship. Accommodation involves changing rules, procedures, policies, or requirements to ensure equal access and opportunities. It requires respect for dignity, individualization, and integration and full participation.
• Accommodation methods: Accommodations can vary based on individual needs and may include flexible work schedules, job duty modifications, changes to the physical environment, assistive devices, alternative communication methods, additional training, and alternative work arrangements.
• Medical information: Employers generally have the right to request information related to a person’s disability, limitations, and accommodation needs. However, the employer’s request must be the least intrusive while still providing sufficient information to determine appropriate accommodation. Generally, an employer does not have the right to know a person’s confidential medical information unless it directly relates to the accommodation being sought.
• Preventing and addressing discrimination: Employers must ensure their organizations are free from discriminatory or harassing behavior. They should take proactive measures to prevent and remove barriers, educate employees on human rights, implement anti-discrimination policies, establish internal complaint procedures, and have an accommodation policy and procedure in place.

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