Employee Disability & Illness
Employees taking extended periods off work due to illness, injury, or disability can be a challenging, but common reality for employers. The most important thing to know is that employers must accommodate an employee’s condition and cannot take action against them, or terminate them because of it.
At Rousseau Mazzuca LLP in Toronto, our knowledgeable employment lawyers provide exceptional legal advice for employers managing employee attendance, disability, illness, and/or injury. We help our clients navigate their obligations and responsibilities in this often complex area of law. We can assist with common questions such as:
Can employers ask employees for a doctor’s note?
How much information about an employee’s illness, injury, disability, or condition can employers request?
Can an employer contact an employee’s doctor directly to ask questions about the employee?
What if the employer doesn’t believe that an employee is sick or injured?
How much time can employees take off?
Do employers have to provide employees with short term benefits, or long term benefits?
What do employers need to do to help employees transition back to work?
ACCOMMODATION
Legally, employers have the duty to accommodate an employee’s illness, injury, or disability to the point of “undue hardship”. Howerver, employees do not get to dictate how the employer accommodates their disability. Employers also do not need to pay full time wages for part time hours, or put up with substandard work. We can help you comply with your legal obligations without compromising the legitimate needs of your business.
TERMINATION
Sometimes an employer restructures and eliminates the position of an employee who is on medical leave or in a heavily accommodated position. Other times an employee with a disability has legitimate performance or conduct problems. When considering terminating an employee with a disability, it is important to make sure you have a sound decision-making process in place. If you are facing such a situation, consult an experience employment lawyer. If the termination had already happened and you are facing a discrimination claim we will advocate for you, with both sensitivity and firmness.
