The board found that the CRA’s revised policy increased “the pressure on an employee with a disability” because it didn’t consider the worker’s individual circumstances or give him more time to obtain an up-to-date medical note – the CRA gave the worker until the end of his term contract, said the board, noting that the only medical information it had at that point was the short doctor’s note from Jan. 8. In addition, after the worker’s contract wasn’t extended, an OFAF indicated that he could return on a gradual basis and work up to full-time employment, the board said.
The revised policy also tried “to predetermine the point of undue hardship for granting any future extensions,” said the board.
Foreseeable future
As the CRA’s operations were dependent upon hiring term employees continuously, the non-discriminatory foreseeable future time frame didn’t end at the completion of the worker’s current term – it was “the length of time in which there will be an operational need for the employer to extend term employees generally who are working in the same position,” said the board, noting that other term employees were extended past May 2022.
“The CRA took a pretty hard approach just because there wasn’t clarity around whether the worker would be able to return by the end of the contract renewal date – they stuck to that timeline to make that decision,” says Gakhar. “When it comes to the duty to accommodate, employers should be far more considerate and careful, to say the least.”
When it comes to accommodating employees on renewable term contracts, employers have to be flexible, adds Gakhar.
