In Zupcic v Saputo Foods Limited, 2022 AHRC 13 (Saputo), the Human Rights Tribunal of Alberta (Tribunal) dismissed an employee’s complaint that that she was discriminated against in employment on the ground of her physical disability in violation of section 7 of the Alberta Human Rights Act (AHRA) when the employer terminated her employment. In doing so, the Tribunal emphasized that the duty to accommodate is not exclusively that of the employer; employees (and their unions, if applicable) seeking accommodation have their own duty to inform the employer of facts relevant to their accommodation need. The Tribunal also stressed that when an employer proposes a reasonable accommodation, the employee has a responsibility to cooperate with its implementation.
Background
The employee operated a machine that fills containers with liquid product from July 2003 until the termination of her employment in November 2015. Her job required her to regularly reach above her shoulders to pull and lift the filled containers, which weighed between 20 and 50 pounds. In 2015, the employee was diagnosed with a repetitive strain injury to her right shoulder.
The employee alleged a violation of section 7 of the AHRA, which prohibits discrimination “with regard to employment or any term or condition of employment” because of a person’s “physical disability.” The employee argued that the employer failed to accommodate her injury because when the employer provided modified work commencing in April...
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