Canadian Law: The Duty of the Employer to Accommodate Serious Illness: Is it Fair to Employers and Co-Workers to Keep a Job Open for Years for a Sick Employee?

Introduction

Human beings live in an unpredictable world where one’s health is not guaranteed. It is for this reason that Canada formulated the Duty to Accommodate code that is enshrined in Canadian laws. This code stipulates that an employer has the duty to accommodate the needs of employees who are psychosocially disabled. Even so, it is not fair to employers and co-workers to keep a job open for years for a sick employee in the name of abiding by the duty to accommodate. In this line, this research seeks to demystify the duty to accommodate while providing concrete reasons to back up this claim.

Summary of legal issues

As noted by Tucker, Hall, Vosco & Hall, Canadian employers are mandated by the law to make effort to accommodate individuals needs to a certain degree of hardship always referred to as undue hardship (Tucker et al., 2015). In order for an employer to demonstrate that his claim of undue hardship is substantiated, he must show that the employee’s absence from work will cause considerable inconvenience. Tucker et al. will provide a comprehensive legal perspective of this scenario.

Opposing viewpoints

Lublin argues that human life cannot be equated to anything. As such, employers and co-workers should keep a job open for years for an employer who is suffering from a terminal illness (Lublin, 2015). Lublin reiterates that no one expects or wishes to be sick. Hence, the employer does not have any reason whatsoever to terminate an employee simply because he has overextended his sick leave. Lublin’s opposing viewpoints will provide the research with an in-depth analysis on the subject of discussion.

Personal Opinion

I believe that the Duty to Accommodate is a good law that gives employees job security even when they are seriously ill. Given that accidents and terminal illnesses are unforeseen occurrences, employers should not dismiss their employees simply because they are not in a position to work for a long time.

References

Lublin, D. (2015) Dealing with mental illness in the workplace. Retrieved from

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/career-advice/experts/dealing-with-mental-illness-in-the-workplace/article24396180/

Tucker, E., Hall, A., Vosco, L., & Hall, R. (2015) Making or Administering Law and Policy?

Discretion and Judgment in Employment Standards Enforcement in Ontario. Canadian Journal of Law and Society. 31 (1): 65-86