Chapter 3 Flashcards
Four legal sources affecting recruitment and selection in Canada
-constitutional law
-human rights law
-employment equity legislation
-labour law, employment standards, and privacy legislation
Constitutional law
Charter of rights and freedoms, supreme law of Canada
Human rights law types
-provincial;
-Canadian (federal); applies to federal government departments, crown corps and businesses that cross provincial lines (ex air travel, Canada post, banks)
Prohibited grounds for discrimination under Canadian human rights act
Race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex (including pregnancy/ childbirth), sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, family status, genetic characteristics , mental or physical disability, pardoned conviction
What is employment equity legislation?
Intended to promote entry and retention of people from designated groups through the elimination of discriminatory practices in the workplace
Designated groups under employment equity legislation?
Women, visible minorities, aboriginal peoples, and persons with disabilities
When are federally regulated employers expected to enact equity programs?
When they have 100 or more employees
Difference between employment equity programs and human rights commissions
-employment equity: may require overall of orgs recruitment and selection system, are proactive in nature to increase protected groups in workplace but are narrow in scope
-human rights commission: only requires remedy to specific complaint, reactive in nature with a broad scope
What do federal and provincial labour laws stipulate?
Right for employees to form unions and bargain collective agreements
What are collective agreements?
Legally binding contract between union and management
Can collective agreements impact recruitment and selection?
Yes, example: closed shop agreement, where employees must be members of the union
What do employment standard laws (provincial, federal, or territorial) do?
Set ground rules for employers; minimum wage, standard hours etc.
What is privacy legislation?
Governs the collection, use and disclosure of personal information by employers
Important points about privacy legislation
-individuals must give consent for the collection
-disclosure of information is reasonable
Undue hardship
Limit beyond which employers and service providers are not expected to accommodate a member of a protected group
-employer cannot bear costs of accommodation
Direct discrimination
Employer adopts a rule or practice that at face value discriminates on a prohibited ground
Discrimination
Refusal to employee or continue employing a person, or adversely effect employment in the basis of membership in a protected group
Adverse effect discrimination
(Indirect discrimination) employers adopt an action in good faith that has an adverse effect on members of a protected group
Adverse impact
When proportionally fewer of a protected group are selected
What is BFOR ?
Bona Fide Occupational Requirement; requirement that a person must possess to do a job in a safe, efficient and reliable manner
Circumstances when employer can defend a discriminatory policy:
-policy is in honest and good faith
-policy is required to perform work safely, efficiently, and reliably
-prove that accommodation is impossible to achieve without undue hardship (in terms of org expenses or operations)
accommodation
When discrimination has occurred, employer obligated to accommodate to the point of undue hardship
Things to consider if employer has made reasonable accommodation
-financial cost for making accommodation
- disruption to any existing collective agreement
- impact to lowered morale on other employees
- flexibility of workforce and facilities
- size of org
- risk when safety is compromised
Reasonable alternative
Burden on employer to show there is no reasonable/ practical alternative for discrimatory practice
Supreme Court ruling on accommodating people with disabilities
Individualized (not standardized) testing must be used to accommodate
What trumps human rights concerns?
Occupational Health and Safety. Aim to keep health standards high without risking human rights, but safety comes first
