Workshop B — The Ins and Outs of Addressing Employee Accommodation and Return-to-Work

Inspector Joseph Matys
Specialized Criminal Investigations - Hold Up
Toronto Police Service

Ivy Nanayakkara
Unit Commander, Wellness Unit
Toronto Police Service

Michelle Zare
Paralegal
Zare Paralegal Services Professional Corporation
Registration opens at 12:30 p.m.
Attend this workshop to gain a complete, updated roadmap to addressing enduring grey areas and dilemmas – and how to ensure that your policies are in line with Charter and other legal considerations.
The Scope of the Duty to Accommodate
- The lengths and limits of the duty to accommodate: Key and recent case law-and their practical implications
- Determining when a task is a BFOR – and when it is not: Concrete examples
- The role of the employer versus the union in the accommodation process
- Managing the costs of accommodation
- Addressing poor performance, discipline issues and patterns of negative behaviour when mental health is a consideration
Managing Operations
- Assessing stress leave entitlement in the absence of mental/physical disability diagnosis
- Accommodating employees with mental health leave, sick leave and parental leave
- Determining how to accommodate physical and disabilities
- Accessing medical and other documentation: How far you can go in communicating with the employee, the union, legal counsel, medical professionals, and insurance companies
- Providing adequate support during internal investigations
Return-to-Work Strategies
- Building tailored, employee-specific strategies versus a one-size-fits-all policy
- Keeping employees on the job and in the workplace versus paid leave
- Deciding if and when to move ahead with employee dismissals and transfers