Labor & Employment Law

CN to judicially review Human Rights on Family Status Case

By Michael Fitzgibbon

According to OHS Canada CN asks court for judicial review of decision finding that an employee had been discriminated against on the basis of family status.  

I discussed this issue and mentioned the three cases here.  

This case will be important to watch.  The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal has, historically, applied the "traditional" test for determining whether a prima facie case of discrimination had taken place (a fairly low threshold) whereas a number of other courts and administrative tribunals have set a higher test for proving prima facie discrimination where family status is in issue.  

It would seem from the brief OHS article, that CN will be challenging the Tribunal's ruling on the basis that they "applied the wrong test" to determine an employer's duty to accommodate based on family status."  While this could mean a lot of things, it is likely that a challenge to the "threshold" test applied by the Tribunal would be a good strategy.  Whether that flies or not.... stay tuned.

Full post as published by Thoughts from a Management Lawyer on November 09, 2010 (boomark / email).