Classes will continue to be delivered virtually
until February 28
Review
Module 1 | Part 2
HRMT 320
Module 2 | Part 1
Human Resource Legislation
• Overview of Employment Laws in Canada
• Impact on Managers
• Human Rights Legislation – 4 key concepts
• Employment Standards Legislation
• Labour Relations Legislation
• Health & Safety Legislation & Workers Compensation
FOR STUDYING PURPOSES ONLY
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION OR COPYING
Framework for HRM HRMT 320 Journey
HR Legislation
Defining, Analyzing &
Designing the Work
Workforce Planning,
Recruitment & Selection
Orientation, Training &
Development
Employee Performance
Total Rewards (Compensation,
Benefits, Recognition)
Organizational Culture,
Employee Engagement,
Health & Safety
Employee Rights &
Responsibilities
Labour Relations
Copyright © 2019 by Nelson Education Ltd. International HRM
The Legal Framework in Canada
Two Sets of Legislation
Federal Provincial
• Some laws are handled at the Federal
level apply to everyone who resides in • Other laws are handled at the Provincial
Canada level.
Example: Paying Taxes
Example: Driver’s licenses
• Various kinds of federal laws (Common law,
Contract law and Statutory law) have an
impact on HRM.
Focus for this module is on Employment Law
14 jurisdictions – Federal, ten provincial and three territorial
Federal legislation applies to:
Provincial Legislation applies to:
• Government department and agencies,
Crown Corporations, Banks • Organizations and business not
legislated by Federal legislation
• Airlines, Railways, Insurance
• McDonalds, Canadian Tire, Walmart
• Examples: CIBC, WestJet, CBC, Canada
Post, Bell • A lot of similarity from province to
province but also differences.
• ~10% of Canadian workers
Overview of Employment
Laws in Canada
Four Categories of Employment Law
Occupational
Basic
Health &
Employment Labour
Jurisdiction Human Rights Safety and
Standards/ Legislations
Worker’s
Conditions
Compensation
Federal Canadian Canada Labour Canada Labour Canada Labour
Human Rights Code Code Code
Act
Provincial/ Alberta Human Employment Labour Occupational
Territorial Rights Act Standards Relations Code Health & Safety
Ex. Alberta Code Code
Impact on Managers
• Determines what is expected to successfully manage people
• Laws are written to protect employer and employees
• Treating employees a certain way is not just a legal
requirement, but is “good business”
• Besides addressing legal issues, laws can also be very
emotional, such as human rights legislation. As a result, all
employees, including supervisors and managers, need to be
aware of their own personal biases.
Biases - prejudice in favor of or against one
thing, person, or group compared with another,
usually in a way considered to be unfair.
What might be some of the risks of not
following or being aware of employment
laws?
• Incurring costly and time consuming litigation
• Negative public attitudes and perceptions
• Damage to morale
Federal Employment Laws
• Canadian Human Rights Act
• Canada Labour Code
• Personal Information Protection and Electronics
Documents Act (PIPEDA)/Personal Information
Protection Act (Alberta)
• The ground rules for how businesses must handle
personal information of employees
- Can use the information only for its intended purpose
- Have to disclose to employees when they are collecting it
- Must seek written permission from employees to disclose personal information
Employment Insurance (EI) and
Canada Pension Plan (CPP)
• Federal law regulates both
• EI – provides wage payment if you lose your job
• Recent changes: Compassionate care benefits, and
Parental levels
• CPP – a small pension when you retire
Human Rights Legislation
(Federal and Provincial)
• Paramount over other Four Key Concepts
employment laws.
1. Discrimination (intentional or
• The Canadian Charter of
unintentional)
Rights & Freedoms passed in
1982 guarantees certain
rights and freedoms in our 2. Bona fide occupational
society. requirement
• The original human rights
legislation was at the federal 3. Reasonable accommodation
level, all provinces have
enacted similar laws. 4. Harassment
• Always expanding and
evolving
Human Rights Legislation
Key Concept #1 | Discrimination
Discrimination: an action or a decision that treats a person or a group badly for
reasons such as their race, age or disability. (Canadian Huma Rights Commission)
Systemic Discrimination: The exclusion of members of certain groups through
the application of employment policies or practices based on criteria that are not
job-related
•Hidden employment barriers
•Can result in inequities if individuals discouraged based on their
membership in certain groups
•Examples include inflated job requirements or recruiting only close friends
Protected Grounds
Alberta Human Rights Act
The purpose of the Alberta Human Rights Act (the Act) is to provide Albertans with protection
of their human rights. The Alberta Human Rights Commission administers the Act. The Act
allows people to make a complaint to the Commission if they feel that they have experienced
harassment or have been discriminated against in the specific areas and under the specific
grounds protected under the Act. The aim of the Commission’s complaint resolution process is
to return the complainant to the position he or she would have been in if the discrimination or
harassment had not occurred.
• Race • Mental disability
• Religious Beliefs • Age
• Colour (including racial slurs, jokes, • Ancestry
stereotyping, and verbal and physical • Place of origin
harassment) • Marital status
• Gender (male, female, transgender, two- • Source of income
spirited. Also includes pregnancy and • Family status
sexual harassment) • Sexual orientation
• Gender identity • Equal pay
• Gender expression
• Physical disability
Alberta Human Rights Commission, Protected Areas and Grounds under the Alberta Human Rights Act Information Sheet, April 2018
Human Rights Legislation
Key Concept #2 | Bona Fide Occupational Qualification
Bona Fide Occupational Qualification: Job qualifications that may be discriminatory
due to business or safety reasons
Examples:
• In order to perform their jobs safely, persons employed as drivers require
acceptable vision and an appropriate driver's licence.
• Liquor store employees must be at least 18 years of age to sell liquor. There is no
exception to this age requirement under Alberta legislation, thus creating a bona
fide occupational requirement.
Question:
You see a part-time job posted in your community for a tutor in a specific foreign language that also
requires that the tutor be from the country of that language. Would being from a specific country be
a justifiable BFOQ? Why or why not?
Answer:
The person or organization seeking a tutor probably could not justify the requirement of being from
a specific country. However, a justifiable BFOQ would be for the person to be fluent in the
language.
Human Rights Legislation
Key Concept #3 | Duty to Accommodate
Duty to Accommodate: Requirement that employers adjust employment
practices to avoid discrimination and enable all individuals to participate fully
• Making adjustments to any aspect of working conditions to prevent
discrimination
• A way to balance the diverse needs of individuals and employers
• Employers expected to accommodate to the point of “undue hardship”
• Undue hardship occurs if accommodation would create onerous
conditions for an employer such as intolerable financial costs or serious
disruption to business.
• Undue hardship can be different for small versus large organizations
• Employee and employer must live up to the agreement
Practice:
A friend of yours has heard you are taking a business course that focuses on human
resources management and wants some help. Your friend, a parent of two small
children, has learned that the daycare centre is changing its closing hours from 6:00p.m.
to 5:30 p.m. Your friend’s work ends at 5:00 p.m., and it takes approximately 45 minutes
to get to the centre. The organization at which your friend works has a large office
complex with more than 1000 employees. Is this a case for reasonable accommodation?
Why or why not?
The answer for the questions is probably “yes” due to the size of the organization and its
ability to accommodate without undue hardship and that it would fit the prohibited ground
of family status.
Example
An employee with a physical disability that prevents him or her from
climbing stairs may be required to carry boxes up a flight of stairs as part
of the job.
If the business has no elevator, it may be deemed an undue hardship to
expect the employer to install an elevator to accommodate the employee.
However, it may be possible to have another employee do that task. In
exchange, the person with a disability could assume one or more of that
other employee's regular tasks.
• Accommodation that is reasonable in one case may not be reasonable in
another situation.
• Every situation should be handled and assessed on an individual basis
and in consultation with employees.
• Employees must cooperate in the accommodation process and accept
reasonable accommodation. An employee is not legally entitled to
instant or perfect accommodation.
Albert Human Rights Commission
Human Rights Legislation
Key Concept #4 | Harassment
Harassment: Any conduct (verbal or physical) or comment that a
reasonable person would consider objectionable or unwelcome
Psychological harassment: repeated and aggravating behavior that
affects an employee’s dignity or psychological or physical integrity that
makes the work environmental harmful
Bullying: actions and verbal comments that can hurt or isolate a person
in the workplace
• Consists of a variety of workplace behaviours and actions, including phycological
harassment and bullying
• Can be one incident or several
• Concept of “reasonable person”, “Would a reasonable person know that the conduct was
not welcomed by another?”
• Can be costly to an organization
• Organizations must create policies and procedures to prevent and deal with harassment
• The onus is on the person experiencing the harassment to inform the harasser that the
behaviour is unwelcome.
Examples of Harassment
• Verbal or physical abuse, threats, derogatory remarks, jokes,
innuendo or taunts about appearance or beliefs.
• The display of pornographic, racist or offensive images.
• Practical jokes that result in awkwardness or embarrassment.
• Unwelcome invitations or requests, either indirect or explicit.
• Intimidation, leering or other objectionable gestures.
• Condescension or paternalism that undermines self-confidence.
• Unwanted physical contact such as touching, patting, pinching,
punching and outright physical assault.
Alberta Human Rights Commission
Break-out groups
1. Although people know that harassment and discrimination are illegal, why would
an employee or potential employee be reluctant to complain?
2. There is much concern about how people behave in the workplace and use
words such as “respectful” to indicate how employees are to treat everyone.
What does respectful look like to you?
You will have 10 minutes. Designate one person to summarize your group’s
discussion to the class.
Review | Human Rights Legislation
(Federal and Provincial)
Four Key Concepts
1. Discrimination (intentional or unintentional)
2. Bona fide occupational requirement
3. Reasonable accommodation
4. Harassment
Enforcement of Human Rights Legislation
Dispute Resolution Process
• Complaint-received: Individual contact the Human Rights Commission to
file a complaint.
• Screening and Investigation: The HR Commission representative works
with the complainant to determine what occurred. The majority of cases
solved at this stage.
• Employer Notified: The representative contacts the employer to
determine its perspective.
• Mediation/Conciliation/Settlement: Specialist are assigned by the
commission to assist the parties in finding a mediated solution. This is a
voluntary and confidential step.
• Tribunal Hearing: No guarantee the complaint will be upheld. If the
complaint is valid, the tribunal can order corrective measures. (Training,
change in policies, payment for lost wages, pain and/or suffering.
Employment Standards
Legislation
Employment Standards Legislation
• Minimum obligations of employers
• Federal: Canada Labour Code
• Alberta: Employment Standards Code
• Covers: payment of wages including pay periods, overtime pay, holiday
pay, method of pay, deductions from pay, minimum wage, hours of
work, rest periods and days of rest, overtime hours and overtime pay,
general holidays and general holiday pay, vacations and vacation pay,
maternity and parental leave, compassionate care leave, termination of
employment and termination pay, employment of those under 18,
reservists leave
Labour Relations
Legislation
Labour Relations Legislation
• Federal: Canada Labour Code
• Alberta: Labour Relations Code
• Governs processes and procedures between trade unions and
employers
• Administered through a labour relations board
• More to come on this in Chapter 10
Health & Safety
Legislation
Health and Safety Legislation and
Workers’ Compensation
• Federal jurisdiction: Canada Labour Code
• Alberta jurisdiction: Occupational Health & Safety Code
• Governs employer responsibility for healthy and safe workplace
• Administered through government agency
• Provides monetary payment to employees if illness or injury caused by
the job
Case Study: This Bullying Has Got to Stop!
Sari works in a large mining operation in Saskatchewan. She has been with the company for a number of years and is
currently a heavy equipment operator.
As the mining business continued to grow, and as the workforce became more diverse, senior leaders in the company also
determined it was important to ensure that the workplace did not engage in discrimination or harassment. Training was
initially done with everyone, and then the company also created ongoing discussion groups with the managers to talk
about discrimination and harassment and reinforce the role they play.
Shortly after the initial training for all employees, Sari approached someone in HR to report that her boss (a man) had
bullied her on several occasions. An investigation was undertaken to determine what had occurred, what had been said,
and what the manager had to say. Part of the investigation included conversations with Sari’s coworkers to see if they had
experienced any bullying.
The investigation determined that the manager had met with Sari on several occasions to talk about her work
performance and the way in which she operated the equipment. He had expressed concern that she was driving the
equipment in an unsafe manner and that if it continued, he would have to discipline her. Sari did not agree with him and
indicated that she was only doing what all the other heavy equipment operators did. He told her that he did not supervise
the others, that he supervised her, and that she was working in an unsafe manner. He also reminded her that bragging
about doing “wheelies” with the equipment was not appropriate behavior under his supervision. He stated clearly that he
did not want to see this kind of behavior again and concluded the meeting. The investigation determined that coworkers
drove equipment unsafely and that Sari’s manager only spoke with her about her driving, whereas the other managers
ignored what was going on. Furthermore, the investigation determined that Sari’s manager was very firm in his views
about safety.
Questions:
[Link] Sari bullied? Why or why not?
[Link] there anything else that should be part of the investigation?
Chapter 2: Operating within the Legal Framework: Case
[Link] you were Sari, what would you do now? Study 1 This Bullying Has Got to Stop!
Book Title: Understanding Human Resources
[Link] you were the manager, what would do now? Management: A Canadian Perspective
Terminology
Bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ): Job qualifications that may be discriminatory due
to business or safety reasons
Bullying: actions and verbal comments that can hurt or isolate a person in the workplace
Duty to accommodate: Requirement that employers adjust employment practices to avoid
discrimination
Harassment: Any conduct or comment that a reasonable person would consider objectionable or
unwelcome
Psychological Harassment: repeated and aggravating behavior that affects an employee’s dignity
or psychological or physical integrity that makes the work environmental harmful
Discrimination: an action or a decision that treats a person or a group badly for reasons such as
their race, age or disability
Reverse discrimination: Giving preference to members of certain groups such that others feel
they are the subjects of discrimination
Systemic Discrimination: The exclusion of members of certain groups through the application of
employment policies or practices based on criteria that are not job-related
Looking Ahead
Wednesday, January 19 : Module 2 | Human Resources Legislation
• Equity
• Diversity & Inclusion
• Ethics
Pre-Work: Read Chapter 2 in the textbook
Next Week
• In-Class Assignment | Next Monday, January 24 at 8 am
• Module 3 | Job Analysis and Design
• Read Chapter 4 in the textbook
References
Canadian Human Rights Commission (n.d.) [Link]
Government of Alberta. (1998-2021) Alberta Human Rights Commission
[Link]
Peacock, M., Stewart E. & Belcourt, M. (2020). Understanding Human Resources
Management: A Canadian Perspective. Nelson Education Ltd.