Prince Edward Island recently became the third Atlantic Canadian province to expressly include “gender expression” and “gender identity” as protected grounds under the Human Rights Act, RSPEI 1988, c H-12 (the “Act”). The Act was amended by Bill 11, An Act to Amend the Human Rights Act, to include the new protected grounds. Royal assent was granted on December 6, 2013.
Although past claims dealing with discrimination or harassment on these grounds have been accepted under the enumerated ground of “sex,” this legislative amendment reiterates the message that transgender, transsexual, intersex, crossdresser, trans, and other persons who express gender differently than their birth-assigned sex are afforded protection under the Act.
The new grounds are not defined in the Act; however, the Ontario Human Rights Commission defines “gender identity” as being “linked to a person’s sense of self, and the sense of being male or female.” Whereas “gender expression” refers to external attributes, behavior, appearance, dress, etc.
Employers are obligated to accommodate disabled employees to the point of undue hardship. Accommodation often requires arranging an employee’s job or workplace duties in such a way that the employee will be able to actively engage in the workforce despite their disability. The duty to accommodate, however, is not limitless. In Katz et al. v […]
read more2019 brought several notable cases impacting employment and labour law. We have put together a brief summary of 10 Canadian decisions we believe employers should be aware of as we head into 2020. 1. Ruston v Keddco MFG (2011) Ltd, 2019 ONCA 125 Ontario Court of Appeal provides an important lesson that overly aggressive tactics […]
read moreOn January 30, 2020, the Nova Scotia Department of Labour and Advanced Education announced its largest increase to Nova Scotia’s minimum wage in a decade. Minimum Wage Increased Starting April 1, 2020, Nova Scotia’s minimum wage will increase from $11.55 to $12.55 an hour. Also, the Nova Scotia Government has announced that it will be […]
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