A group of business proprietors, human resources personnel, and corporate managers learned about Saskatchewan Human Rights Code legislation and its impact on the workplace on October 23. A “lunch and learn” session was hosted by Sagehill Community Futures at the Bella Vista Inn.

Acting Director of Sagehill Community Futures, Susan Wehage, introduced Robin Mowat, investigator for the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission. Mowat gave a brief background to the development of human rights legislation in the province. He explained that the Code is designed “to promote recognition of the inherent dignity and the equal inalienable right of all members of the human family.”

The Code protects employees from discrimination on the basis of race, ancestry, sexual orientation, and gender identity among other factors. The Code applies in a variety of settings including primarily employment, but also in housing, education, and public services. 

Much of the Commission’s work combats discrimination in the workplace and public arena and upholds principles of employment equity. When it comes to discrimination, Mowat presented the situation in a straightforward manner.

“When we talk about discrimination, we are talking about unfair actions against other people within those areas to which the Code applies. It could be a termination, a demotion, an unequal distribution of work or benefits like pay.”

Mowat says that such situations can be intentional or they may simply be holdovers from previous practice and not done with malice. Either way, such situations set the stage for friction in the workplace. 

Establishing equity in the workplace arises from the Code’s duty to combat discrimination on the basis of disability. Mowat talked about the employer’s “duty to accommodate” in cases where a disability might diminish an individual’s right to access or maintain work. 

Mowat elaborated on accommodation, “It can be almost anything, but it has to be connected to the protected ground. It requires an understanding of what the disability is; maybe not the name, but what the effect of the disability is. For example, you may not need to know the condition is diabetes, but you need to know the requirements for breaks to inject insulin.”

At times, accommodation may require changes in work shifts or days to accommodate religious beliefs. Mowat points out that accommodations do not necessarily require a “perfect” solution, but they do aim toward a “reasonable” solution that meets the requirements of the employer and employee. The reasonable solution comes into play especially when a potential work accommodation may cause an undue hardship for the employer such a significant disruption of business or an unsupportable financial cost. 

Attendees had questions, some of which revolved around process and evaluation in the case of employee disputes. One of the keys, explained Mowat, is documenting the circumstances.

“If employers are dealing with a non-typical situation with an employee, it’s in both the business’ interest and the employee’s interest to document the interactions: the timeline, when things happened, when documents are requested and received. This is just so in the unfortunate eventuality of some kind of complaint, there’s a clear track record of documents that can help to clarify the situation.”

Mowat concluded by inviting employers and managers to contact him directly for inquiries or support. Supports and information are available at saskatchewanhumanrights.ca or email at robin.mowat@gov.sk.ca.