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Introduction to Undue Hardship in Employment Law  

Definition of Undue Hardship  

Explanation of the term in the context of employment law  

Importance of balancing employer and employee rights  

Overview of the legal framework  

Relevant laws and statutes (e.g., Americans with Disabilities Act, Canadian Human Rights Act)  

The role of the Supreme Court in shaping the interpretation of undue hardship  

Key Supreme Court Decisions  

Simpsons-Sears Ltd.* (1985)  

Background of the case  

Supreme Court's ruling and its significance  

Case 2: *Meiorin Case* (1999)  

Overview of the case and the context of employment standards  

Impact on the interpretation of undue hardship and reasonable accommodation  

Implications of Supreme Court Decisions on Employment Law  

Understanding Reasonable Accommodation  

Definition and examples of reasonable accommodation in the workplace  

The relationship between reasonable accommodation and undue hardship  

Challenges for Employers  

Legal and operational challenges in accommodating employees  

Strategies for mitigating undue hardship claims  

Future Directions in Employment Law  

Trends and potential changes in legal interpretations  

The role of diversity and inclusion in shaping future policies  

Navigating Undue Hardship: Key Supreme Court Decisions and Their Implications in Employment Law2

Here are leading cases on "undue hardship" in the employment context, with detailed facts, issues, outcomes and ratio decidendi:

1. British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU, [1999] 3 SCR 3 (Meiorin)
Facts: Tawney Meiorin was a female firefighter who had worked successfully for three years before being dismissed for failing to meet a new aerobic standard that was more difficult for women to meet than men. The government justified the standard as being necessary for safety and efficiency.
Issue: Whether the aerobic standard discriminated against women and what test should be used to determine if an occupational requirement is discriminatory.
Outcome: The Supreme Court found the standard was discriminatory and set out a new unified test for determining if an occupational requirement is a bona fide occupational requirement (BFOR).
Ratio: To establish a BFOR, an employer must show:
1) The standard was adopted for a purpose rationally connected to job performance
2) The employer adopted the standard in an honest and good faith belief it was necessary
3) The standard is reasonably necessary to accomplish its purpose, which requires showing it is impossible to accommodate individual employees without imposing undue hardship on the employer

2. Hydro-Québec v. Syndicat des employé-e-s de techniques professionnelles et de bureau d'Hydro-Québec, section locale 2000 (SCFP-FTQ), 2008 SCC 43
Facts: An employee with chronic absenteeism due to physical and mental health issues was dismissed after being absent over 960 days in 7.5 years. The employer had made multiple attempts to accommodate the employee over several years.
Issue: Whether the employer had met its duty to accommodate to the point of undue hardship.
Outcome: The Supreme Court found the employer had satisfied its duty to accommodate.
Ratio: The test for undue hardship is not total unfitness for work in the foreseeable future. If the characteristics of an illness are such that the proper operation of the business is hampered excessively or if an employee with such an illness remains unable to work for the reasonably foreseeable future even though the employer has tried to accommodate him or her, the employer will have satisfied the test.

3. McGill University Health Centre (Montreal General Hospital) v. Syndicat des employés de l'Hôpital général de Montréal, 2007 SCC 4
Facts: A nurse was dismissed after being absent for 3 years due to depression. The collective agreement allowed dismissal after 3 years absence. The union argued this clause was discriminatory.
Issue: Whether the automatic termination clause in the collective agreement was discriminatory.
Outcome: The Supreme Court found the clause was not discriminatory as it allowed for sufficient accommodation.
Ratio: A clause providing for automatic termination after a certain period of absence is not necessarily discriminatory if it allows for sufficient accommodation. The assessment of whether there is undue hardship must be done on an individualized basis.

4. Central Alberta Dairy Pool v. Alberta (Human Rights Commission), [1990] 2 SCR 489
Facts: Jim Christie, a member of the Worldwide Church of God, was fired for refusing to work on a religious holiday (Monday, April 5, 1982). He had offered to work the previous Saturday to make up the time.
Issue: Whether the employer had a duty to accommodate the employee's religious beliefs.
Outcome: The Supreme Court found the employer had a duty to accommodate to the point of undue hardship.
Ratio: The Court set out factors to consider in assessing undue hardship, including financial cost, disruption of a collective agreement, problems of morale of other employees, interchangeability of workforce and facilities, size of the employer, and safety risks.
5. Stewart v. Elk Valley Coal Corp., 2017 SCC 30
Facts: Ian Stewart, a heavy equipment operator at a coal mine, had a cocaine addiction. He was involved in a workplace accident and subsequently tested positive for cocaine. He was fired under the company's drug policy, which required employees to disclose addictions before incidents occurred.
Issue: Whether the termination was discriminatory based on disability.
Outcome: The majority of the Supreme Court found the termination was not discriminatory.
Ratio: There must be a connection between the addiction and the adverse treatment. Here, the employee was terminated for violating the drug policy, not because of his addiction. Employers are entitled to terminate employees for breaching drug policies aimed at workplace safety, provided they accommodate employees who disclose addictions before incidents occur.

6. Nason v Thunder Bay Orthopaedic Inc., 2015 ONSC 8097
Facts: Nason, an employee with a disability, claimed his employer failed to accommodate him and wrongfully dismissed him. The employer argued they had tried to accommodate but Nason was uncooperative.
Issue: Whether the employer failed to accommodate to the point of undue hardship.
Outcome: The court found the employer had discriminated and failed to accommodate.
Ratio: The duty to accommodate has both procedural and substantive components. The employer must undertake an individualized assessment and demonstrate what steps were taken to accommodate the employee.

7. Edmonton (City) v. Amalgamated Transit Union, Local No. 569, 2017 ABQB 59
Facts: A transit employee was terminated for excessive absenteeism related to medical issues. The union grieved the termination.
Issue: Whether the employer had to prove undue hardship before terminating for innocent absenteeism related to disability.
Outcome: The court found the employer did not have to prove undue hardship in every case of termination for innocent absenteeism.
Ratio: Not every termination for disability-related absenteeism requires proof of undue hardship. The key question is whether there was a sufficient connection between the disability and the termination.

8. University of British Columbia v. Kelly, 2015 BCSC 1731
Facts: Dr. Carl Kelly, a medical resident with ADHD and other disabilities, was dismissed from a residency program. He claimed the university failed to accommodate his disabilities.
Issue: Whether the university failed to accommodate the resident to the point of undue hardship.
Outcome: The court upheld a finding that the university had failed to accommodate.
Ratio: The duty to accommodate requires both procedural steps (individualized assessment) and substantive accommodation measures. Success or failure is not determinative - the focus is on whether appropriate accommodation was provided.

9. Emergency Health Services Commission v. Cassidy, 2011 BCSC 1003
Facts: A paramedic was unable to meet a manual pulse-taking standard due to a disability. The employer argued accommodating this would cause undue hardship.
Issue: Whether the employer could accommodate the employee without undue hardship.
Outcome: The court found accommodation was possible without undue hardship.
Ratio: The duty to accommodate is not limited to the employee's existing job, but extends to possible alternate positions. Undue hardship requires more than mere inconvenience.

10. Lessard v University Appeal Board, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, 2022 SKQB 123
Facts: A medical student with disabilities requested exam deferrals as accommodation. The university denied some requests.
Issue: Whether the university had a duty to accommodate by granting exam deferrals.
Outcome: The court found no failure to implement accommodation policies.
Ratio: The duty to accommodate only arises if required under the university's policies. General arguments about undue hardship are not relevant if no duty to accommodate exists under the applicable policies.

11. Ecole St Margaret School v Prisciak, 2012 SKQB 303
Facts: Parents of a disabled student requested a key to access a locked school door. The school refused, citing safety concerns.
Issue: Whether the school's refusal to provide a key was a failure to accommodate.
Outcome: The court upheld a finding that the school had provided reasonable accommodation.
Ratio: The duty is to provide reasonable accommodation, not necessarily the specific accommodation requested. Some inconvenience does not negate reasonable accommodation.

12. Stringer v. Canada (Attorney General), 2013 FC 735
Facts: A hearing impaired employee claimed discrimination for failure to provide interpreters for all workplace communications.
Issue: Whether the employer failed to accommodate by not providing interpreters.
Outcome: The adjudicator found the employer had discriminated by failing to accommodate.
Ratio: Employers must take reasonable steps to accommodate disabilities, including providing assistive services like interpreters, unless it would cause undue hardship. Cost alone is not sufficient to establish undue hardship.

13. Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique, section locale 1108 v. CHU de Québec — Université Laval, 2020 QCCA 857
Facts: A hospital employee was accommodated in a lower-paying position due to disability. The union argued the employer should maintain the previous salary.
Issue: Whether the employer had to maintain the employee's prior salary as part of accommodation.
Outcome: The court found maintaining the prior salary was not required.
Ratio: Reasonable accommodation does not require guaranteeing an employee's prior salary and benefits. However, employers should try to provide comparable benefits where possible without undue hardship.

14. Gahagan v. James Campbell Inc., 2014 HRTO 14
Facts: An employee with epilepsy requested accommodation including a modified work schedule. The employer terminated her employment, claiming undue hardship.
Issue: Whether the employer could have accommodated the employee without undue hardship.
Outcome: The Human Rights Tribunal found the employer failed to accommodate to the point of undue hardship.
Ratio: Employers must engage in a meaningful process to explore accommodation options. Undue hardship requires objective evidence of financial costs, health and safety risks, or significant interference with the rights of others.

15. Johnstone v. Canada (Border Services Agency), 2014 FCA 110
Facts: Fiona Johnstone requested accommodation of her childcare responsibilities through a fixed shift schedule. The employer refused, offering only ad hoc changes.
Issue: Whether the employer's refusal to accommodate constituted discrimination based on family status.
Outcome: The Federal Court of Appeal found the employer had discriminated and failed to accommodate to the point of undue hardship.
Ratio: Family status protection includes childcare obligations. Employers must accommodate these obligations to the point of undue hardship, which requires more than minor inconvenience.

These cases collectively demonstrate that the assessment of undue hardship requires an individualized analysis considering the specific circumstances of each case. Key principles include the need for both procedural and substantive accommodation efforts, the relevance of safety considerations, and that some hardship short of "undue" hardship may be required of employers.


The complexities of employment law are magnified in the realm of undue hardship, where the rights and responsibilities of both employers and employees intersect in profound ways. As workplaces evolve to embrace diversity and accommodate a range of individual needs, understanding the legal principles surrounding undue hardship becomes increasingly crucial. This course, "Navigating Undue Hardship: Key Supreme Court Decisions and Their Implications in Employment Law," delves into the intricate balance that must be struck when providing reasonable accommodations while safeguarding the operational integrity of organizations. By examining seminal Supreme Court decisions, participants will gain insight into the evolving interpretation of undue hardship and its significant implications for employment practices.

At the heart of this exploration lies the fundamental tension between the rights of employees to receive fair treatment and the legitimate operational concerns of employers. The course will unpack the concept of undue hardship, elucidating its definition and relevance in employment law, particularly under major legislative frameworks such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Canadian Human Rights Act. Participants will analyze pivotal Supreme Court cases that have shaped the landscape of reasonable accommodation, such as the landmark decisions in *Simpsons-Sears Ltd.* and the *Meiorin Case*. These cases not only highlight the judiciary's role in interpreting the legal standards but also underscore the importance of fostering inclusive workplaces that respect both individual rights and organizational capabilities. Through this rigorous examination, the course aims to equip participants with the knowledge and tools necessary to navigate the legal complexities of undue hardship in their professional contexts.