I have a disability. What are my rights at work?

Ontario's human rights laws say that everyone has the right to be treated equally and not be discriminated against at work.

This means that your employer must do what they can to make things fair for you if you have a disability. This could mean doing things differently for you so that you're treated equally.

Some people call this “removing barriers” that discriminate against you in a way that goes against your human rights. The legal word for this is accommodation.

Examples of accommodation

Your employer might have to:

• change your work area because you have a disability
• provide computer software or equipment that you need because of your disability
• let you take a leave of absence to get treatment for an addiction to drugs or alcohol
• adjust your schedule or your work hours while you recover from an injury or get treatment
• change your job duties to ones that you're able to do

These are all examples. Accommodation can be different for different people. It depends on what you need.

Asking for an accommodation

If you need accommodation because of human rights, ask for it. Your employer must try to make things fair for you.

And you must co-operate with your employer to try to find and agree on what's reasonable for them to do. It might not be the same as what you asked for.

If you have a union at work, talk to your union representative. The union is usually involved if a union member needs accommodation. Your union and your employer are both responsible for accommodation.