Work. Bleh. The old nine to five, grinding it out day after day, just waiting for the weekend to come around. And right when you’ve settled into the leisure of the weekend, the workweek rears its hideous maw yet again.
This attitude comes from a place of privilege, of course. We might joke about the grind, but at the end of the day, it’s impossible to overstate the importance of people’s jobs. Aside from the personal satisfaction that your work might give you, there’s also the factor of wage to consider.
Some people may be able to afford missing a few weeks of work due to an injury, but, for most, missing work due to an injury is untenable—and injury compensation claims come into play. There are some situations in which your injury gives you no choice but to miss work, causing many to resort to injury compensation claims with a Toronto personal injury lawyer. However, Ontario has laws in place to assure that, if you’re able to work, your employer must accommodate. And if they don’t, it’s within your rights to consult a Toronto personal injury law firm.
The Ontario Human Rights Commission
The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) is part of Ontario’s multi-body system for preventing discrimination and promoting human rights. The OHRC adheres to the Ontario Human Rights Code, a legal statute first enacted in 1962. The code protects many different grounds, including:
- Age;
- Ancestry, colour, race;
- Citizenship;
- Disability;
- Ethnic origin;
- Place of origin;
- Creed;
- Disability;
- Family status;
- Marital status (including single status);
- Gender identity, gender expression;
- Sex (including pregnancy and breastfeeding); and
- Sexual orientation.
The code applies to various social areas, such as:
- Accommodation (i.e. housing);
- Contracts;
- Employment;
- Goods, services, and facilities; and
- Membership in unions and trade or professional associations.
As far as working with a disability is concerned, the code guarantees the right to “equal treatment with respect to employment”. This covers all areas of the workplace, from job applications and recruitment, to training and promotions, to dismissals and layoffs.
Disabilities and Accommodation
The OHRC monitors employers, requiring that they make all reasonable efforts to accommodate disabled employees or potential employees. However, the word “reasonable” is important here. Employers are not, for example, expected or required to provide a hydraulic lift for a wheelchair at their own expense; that is unreasonable. Some examples of reasonable employer accommodations might be:
- Providing tape recorders for employees who have suffered injuries that limit hearing, writing, or concentration (e.g. head injuries, hand injuries);
- Offering someone with fatigue ample opportunities to rest, especially in a job that requires frequent movement; or
- Purchasing adaptive technologies or other equipment designed to ease daily tasks (e.g. a day planner, a larger keyboard and computer screen, or speech recognition software).
Regardless of your injury, missing an extended period of work due to a temporary disability work can be the difference between your current standard of living and drowning in bills. On top of injury compensation claims, Toronto personal injury lawyers can ensure that your employer is in line with the OHRC so that you can stay working.
Sources:
http://www.brainline.org/landing_pages/categories/employment.html
http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/social_areas/employment?f[0]=bundle%3Apage&f[1]=im_field_codegroundtax%3A21
http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/ontario-human-rights-code