Accommodation Policy

Human rights laws require employers to not only prevent discrimination but make accommodations for employees’ disabilities, religious preferences and family status. Accommodations must be reasonable up to the point of undue hardship. Exactly what accommodations are and are not required? The only blanket rule is that there are no blanket rules. Accommodations must be determined based on the employee’s individual needs and unique circumstances of the situation. What’s required, then, is not just a set of principles but a procedure for requesting and evaluating accommodations in accordance with those principles.

  1. PURPOSE

The purpose of this Policy is not only to codify these principles but also to establish a mechanism for employees to submit and _______________ to respond to requests for accommodations in a timely and sensitive manner.

 

  1. POLICY STATEMENT

_______________ is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace where all employees are afforded equal opportunity and treated with dignity and respect free from discrimination or harassment. In furtherance of this commitment and its obligations under human rights laws, _______________ will make reasonable workplace accommodations to ensure that individuals are not unfairly excluded from carrying out their job duties and participating in work-related activities up to the point of undue hardship.

  1. DEFINITIONS

For purposes of this Policy:

Accommodations means steps to eliminate barriers and discrimination against individuals;

Discrimination means any conduct or term or condition of employment that has a negative impact, whether intentional or unintentional, against an individual because of [modify the following as necessary to cover the grounds of discrimination covered in your own province or particular workplace] race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, political belief, religion, marital status, family status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, age of that person or because that person has been convicted of a criminal or summary conviction offence that is unrelated to the person’s employment or to intended employment;

Undue hardship occurs when a requested workplace accommodation is too costly, not viable, creates risks to health or safety or otherwise unreasonable to implement…