Lecture 3: Legal (part 1) Instructor: Shawn Komar, PhD Office: P2022 Office Hours: Mon & Wed, 2:30-3:30

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development Level I: Preconventional Stage One: Avoiding Punishment Stage Two: Self-Interest Level II: Conventional Stage Three: Interpersonally Normative Morality Stage Four: Social System Morality Level III: Postconventional or Principled Stage Five: Human Rights and Social Welfare Morality Stage Six: Morality of Universalizable, Reversible, and Prescriptive General Ethical Principles

Employment Law in Canada Manifests Canadian values and ideals: We value Fairness, Diversity, Safety We don’t abuse each other We don’t exploit each other Employment law sets a minimum standard

Legislation Affecting Workplaces Charter of Rights and Freedoms Human Rights Legislation Employment Standards Legislation Ordinary Laws Collective Bargaining Agreements Employment Contracts Apply to employment situations and the delivery of goods and services Prohibits discrimination on the basis of prohibited grounds Guarantees fundamental rights Establishes minimum terms of work (e.g., wages, hours)

Human Rights Legislation Affects nearly every human resource function Planning, recruiting, selecting, training, compensation, labour relations Differ to some extent between provinces and federal level Covers both intentional and unintentional discrimination

Legal Jurisdictions for Employment Law 14 Jurisdictions in Canada 13 Provincial and Territorial, 1 Federal 90% of employees covered by provincial/territorial law 10% covered by federal law Federal civil service, Crown corporations and agencies “Federal” industries: Transportation, banking, and communications

Human Rights Legislation Designed to prohibit discrimination on the basis of: Race & colour Religion/creed Sex Marital status Age Disability Sexual orientation Other grounds (depending on jurisdiction)

Human Rights Legislation - Example Disability Past, present or perceived Employers need to be aware that there are many kinds of barriers: Architectural and physical barriers Information or communication barriers Attitudinal barriers Technology barriers Systemic barriers It is estimated that 1 in 7 people in Ontario has a disability. -Schwind et al. 2014

Human Rights Legislation - Example Disability Duty to accommodate: Respects the dignity of the person Make individualized attempts to accommodate to the point of undue hardship Implement the most appropriate accommodation Employers should accommodate disabilities not just during employment, but even during the selection process (e.g., testing, interviewing)

Human Rights Legislation - Example Disability Duty to accommodate example: “A barista at Starbucks in Texas recently sued her employer for discrimination. The woman is a dwarf, and asked for a stool or step ladder to help her perform her job. The company decided that a stool wasn’t reasonable and could represent a danger to co-workers or customers. -Schwind et al. 2014

Human Rights Legislation - Example Race and Colour Example: “A Sikh man who worked for Air Canada claimed that he was harassed and subjected to racial slurs by his supervisor. He was offered an early retirement package, and he claimed he was forced to accept it because of the atmosphere of discrimination in the workplace. -Schwind et al. 2014

Human Rights Legislation - Example Religion Employers have a duty to accommodate an employee’s religious practices, unless it results in “undue hardship” for the employer “An employee who worked at a milk-processing plant in Alberta became a member of a religion and asked for an unpaid leave for a particular Monday in order to observe a holy day. The employer refused the request because Mondays were especially busy at the plant. The employee did not report for work and was fired. -Schwind et al. 2014

BFORs Employers CAN discriminate against a protected group if the reason for the discrimination is considered a bona fide occupational requirement Discrimination can qualify as a BFORs if: 1.The BFOR is based on a legitimate work-related purpose 2.The employer legitimately believed that the requirement was necessary 3.It would have been impossible to accommodate those who have been discriminated against without imposing undue hardship on the employer

Top Hat Questions Is it legal for an employer to decide not to hire someone because he or she is overweight ? It depends -Because he/she overweight ? Yes -Only for people over the age of 50 ? Depends

Group Activity

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