Discrimination
BC HR Tribunal awards $900 in costs against former employee who tried to resile from settlement agreement
In Edwards v. Schnitzer Steel Pacific, 2012 BCHRT 335, the BC Human Rights Tribunal:
- granted the employer's application to dismiss the former employee's human rights complaint under section 27(1)(d)(ii) of the BC Human Rights Code; and
- awarded the employer $900 in costs due to the fact that the former employee had tried to resile from a settlement agreement that he had previously entered into, with the assistance of his lawyer, with the employer.
Ontario court confirms that employee with "anger management issues" not disabled under Code
In Gulick v. Ottawa Police Service, 2012 ONSC 5536, the Ontario Superior court confirmed that an employee with "anger management issues" was not disabled for the purposes of the Ontario Human Rights Code and thus not entitled to accommodation.
Specifically, the court stated the following in this case, which involved the dismissal of a police officer:
[15] While the incident giving rise to the disciplinary hearing did involve
some consumption of alcohol and medications, the Hearing Officer found as a
fact that the incident was triggered by anger management issues with which the
applicant had been struggling for several years. The Hearing Officer found
that alcohol was, at most, an exacerbating factor. We are not aware of any
jurisprudence which has established that anger management issues will support a
finding of disability.
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Manitoba Human Rights Code to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity, disadvantaged social status
The Government of Manitoba issued a news release today concerning amendments to the province's Human Rights Code that would prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and disadvantaged social status.
The amendments are found in Bill 36, the Human Rights Code Amendment Act.
The release states as follows:
Canadian Human Rights Commission "Cautions Employers on Rights of Aging Workers"
The Canadian Human Rights Commission issued a news release on March 26, 2012 that "Cautions Employers on Rights of Aging Workers". The release reads:
On December 16, 2011, the Government of Canada repealed the section of the Canadian Human Rights Act that permitted federally regulated employers to impose mandatory retirement in some circumstances.
This measure was included in the Budget Implementation Act, which also stipulated a one-year transition period before the repeal of section 15 (1) (c) of the Canadian Human Rights Act takes effect.
The Canadian Human Rights Commission has received inquiries and is aware of media commentary about employers seeking to take advantage of the transition period to force employees to retire before they are ready to. While there is no evidence that this is taking place, the Commission believes it is prudent to caution any employer that might be considering such action to think again. read more »
Facebook issues statement against employers asking prospective or actual employees to reveal passwords
Facebook's Chief Privacy Officer, Erin Egan, issued a statement on March 23, 2012 setting out the company's opposition to employers asking prospective or actual employees to reveal their Facebook passwords. The statement reads: read more »
