The Ontario Human Rights code states that every person has the right to be treated equally without discrimination regardless of their personal characteristics. One of those characteristics is your family status. This refers to the relationship of a parent and child. For instance, you cannot be passed up for a promotion, learning opportunities or recognition because you are a mother.

Childcare obligations are an area that falls under family status discrimination. Your employer has the responsibility of offering reasonable accommodation of childcare. That means that if a policy or working arrangement in the workplace has an unintended effect of discrimination upon your childcare obligation, then your employer has a responsibility to accommodate you.

Accommodating your family status essentially entails making special arrangements for you to address the disadvantage you suffer as result of the unequal treatment.

However, there are standards that must be met prior to your employer having to accommodate your childcare needs. In general terms, those standards are:

• First, you must first prove that the workplace policy in question adversely affects your childcare responsibilities.
• Second, you must establish that the child is under your legal care, and you are responsible for their childcare. Being a parent or legal guardian undoubtedly meets this criterion.
• Third, you must make a reasonable effort to make alternative childcare arrangements, such as arranging for daycare, or a relative or spouse to care for your child during the required work hours.
• Finally, if such arrangements are not possible, your employer has a duty to make a meaningful effort to accommodate your childcare needs, without hurting their business. For example, this could mean a flexible scheduling arrangement that would allow you to fulfill your work obligations and still meet your childcare duties.
• However, the determination of when the “business is hurting” is an elusive standard that most often requires the advice of an experienced employment lawyer.