Employee Management for Small Business. Lin Grensing-Pophal

is divided between the provincial and the federal governments. The laws enacted by the federal government are contained in the Canada Labour Code and apply mainly to employees of federal Crown corporations and federally regulated areas, including the following:

      • Works or undertakings in connecting a province with another province or country, such as railways, bus operations, trucking, pipelines, ferries, tunnels, bridges, canals, and telegraph and cable systems.

      • All extra-provincial shipping and services connected with such shipping (e.g., longshoring and stevedoring).

      • Air transport, aircraft, and airdromes.

      • Radio and television broadcasting.

      • Banks.

      • Defined operations of specific works that have been declared to be for the general advantage of Canada or of two or more provinces, such as flour, feed and seed cleaning mills, feed warehouses, grain elevators, and uranium mining and processing.

      • Most federal Crown corporations (e.g., the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the St. Lawrence Seaway Authority).

      Because laws and regulations vary by province, it is important to check the regulations that apply in your area. A useful resource available online is the Human Resources and Skills Development Canada home page: www.hrsdc.gc.ca.

      3.1 Canadian Human Rights Act

      The Canadian Human Rights Act regulates discrimination against employees who come under federal jurisdiction. Other employees are covered by the human rights code of their specific province.

      The Canadian Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the grounds of race, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, age, sex, marital status, family status, disability, and conviction for which a pardon has been granted. The Act further states that if a complaint is based on pregnancy or childbirth, the discrimination shall be deemed to be based on the grounds of sex.

      However, under the Act it is not a discriminatory practice to —

      • refuse, exclude, specify, or express a preference in relation to employment if based on a bona fide occupational requirement;

      • refuse or terminate employment because an individual has not reached the minimum age for legal employment by law or under regulations;

      • vest or lock in pension contributions if the terms and conditions of a pension fund or plan established by an employer provide for the compulsory vesting or locking in of pension contributions at a fixed or determinable age;

      • discriminate on a prohibited ground of discrimination in a manner that is proscribed by guidelines issued by the Commission; or

      • grant a female employee maternity leave.

      According to the Act, it is also not a disciminatory act to terminate an individual’s employment because that person has reached normal retirement age for employees in similar positions. However, there are provincial regulations which declare mandatory retirement to be discriminatory in some areas of Canada (e.g., British Columbia, Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Yukon, Manitoba, Sasketchewan, Northwest Territories, Nunavut). In these areas, provincial regulations override the Canadian Human Rights Act. Be sure that your province does not have such regulations before terminating an employee on this basis.

      3.2 The Canadian Human Rights Commission

      The Canadian Human Rights Commission consists of a chief commissioner and a deputy chief commissioner in addition to three to six members who may be either full or part time.

      The Commission administers the Canadian Human Rights Act, the conduct of public information programs, the sponsorship of research projects, and the review of regulations and orders issued by parliament to determine whether they are consistent with the principles expressed in the Canadian Human Rights Act.

      In addition to the Commission, a human rights tribunal panel has been established whose members are appointed by the Governor General.

      3.3 Complaints

      An individual or group of individuals may file a complaint with the Commission if there are reasonable grounds for believing that a person has engaged in or is engaging in a discriminatory practice. The discriminatory act or omission must have occurred —

      • in Canada, and the aggrieved person must have been lawfully present in Canada or, if absent, must have been entitled to return;

      • outside Canada, and the person discriminated against must havebeen a Canadian citizen or a person admitted for permanent residence; or

      • in Canada, and must have been a discriminatory practice against a class of individuals rather than one person in particular (e.g., discriminatory advertisements, discriminatory employment policies, and hate literature).

      After the complaint has been filed, the Commission may request the president of the human rights tribunal panel to appoint a human rights tribunal to look into the complaint. As a result of such an inquiry, a person may be ordered to —

      • cease the discriminatory practice and take measures to prevent a similar practice from occurring in the future, including the adoption of an affirmative action plan;

      • make available the rights, opportunities, or privileges that were denied the victim as a result of the discriminatory practice; or

      • compensate the victim for lost wages and any expenses incurred as a result of the discriminatory practice.

      In Canada, as in the United States, the emphasis is on fair and consistent treatment of all potential and current employees. Common sense and fair dealings should prevail in any of your recruitment, interviewing, and selection procedures.

      Take steps now to prevent problems from occurring. Make sure that your hiring practices are fair, equitable, and consistent.