The issue of disability in the workplace is the source of many disputes between employees and their employers. Under the Human Rights Code, your employer has a duty to accommodate disabled employees. For example, if an employee is disabled and is unable to do part of his or her job – for instance, because of the way the job is set up – the employer may have to make different arrangements to enable that employee to work. This could mean changing some tasks, or putting special equipment or procedures in place to assist the disabled employee. The employer has to do what is reasonably possible to accommodate the disabled employee, even if there is some hardship or cost involved for the employer. However, the employer doesn’t have an unlimited duty to accommodate: an employer only has to try to accommodate a disabled employee up to the point of "undue hardship". Essentially, this means that the employer will not be expected to make an accommodation that is unreasonably costly or unreasonably difficult. In addition, an employee shouldn’t expect a perfect solution: the accommodation has to be reasonable, not perfect.

Disabled employees also have responsibilities in the process of accommodation. An employee seeking an accommodation has a duty to facilitate the employer’s reasonable attempts at accommodation. This means that if an employee does not participate in the attempt to find an appropriate accommodation, it could create difficulties for the employer that would allow the employer to say it doesn’t have to accommodate the employee, and it has reached the point of undue hardship.

One way in which an employee has to cooperate with the process is by providing sufficient medical information to show the extent of his or her disability. This information could include, for example, the employee’s doctor advising the employer of the nature of the disability, whether it is chronic or temporary, the extent of any limitation or restriction on the employee’s work as a result of the illness, and how treatment might affect the employee’s ability to work. The exact type and amount of information required will vary depending on each individual case. Since medical information is private, the employer is entitled only to the information that is necessary for it to fulfil its duty to accommodate the employee, and the employer has to carefully protect the information that an employee provides. If a disabled employee does not cooperate by providing the necessary information in a timely way, the employee might compromise his or her right to an accommodation. If you are unsure about a request to provide medical information to your employer for any reason, including for the purpose of an accommodation, you should consult your Union.