Overview
Lancaster House’s Ontario Human Rights and Accommodation Conference brings together top legal experts, labour relations professionals, and union representatives to examine the latest developments and emerging trends in workplace human rights and accommodation. Attendees will gain valuable insights on key topics, including recent legislative and policy changes and practical strategies for addressing workplace human rights matters.
Attendees also have the option to attend our featured expert-led workshop offered by our Centre for Labour Relations Training & Development, taking place the day before the conference, where attendees will engage in panel hands-on scenarios tailored to address real workplace human rights challenges.
What to Expect
In this conference, leading labour relations, lawyers, and human rights professionals will explore recent legal developments and emerging workplace human rights challenges in Ontario and federally.
Throughout the event, panelists from union-side, employer-side, and neutral perspectives will share their insights through moderated discussions. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions verbally or electronically at the end of each panel.
Participants will also be provided with a comprehensive set of digital materials including textbook chapters, case summaries, and other online resources relevant to panel discussions These resources, developed through hours of research by Lancaster House program lawyers, will prove invaluable for future reference.
Who Should Attend?
This conference is essential for:
- Employment Lawyers & Legal Professionals – Stay ahead of evolving employment laws and gain insights on key case law decisions.
- HR Professionals & Business Leaders – Understand your obligations and responsibilities when implementing workplace accommodations and inclusion strategies.
- Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Specialists – Learn best practices for fostering an inclusive, discrimination-free workplace.
- Union Representatives & Labor Advocates – Get the latest updates on human rights protections and fair labor policies.
Learning Outcomes
At the Toronto Human Rights and Accommodation Conference 2026, you’ll gain actionable insights on:
- Human Rights Law Updates – Stay informed on recent tribunal decisions, legislative changes, and legal obligations for employers.
- Workplace Accommodation Strategies – Learn how to effectively accommodate employees with disabilities and diverse needs while staying compliant.
- Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace – Discover best practices for fostering equity, inclusion, and anti-discrimination policies.
- HR Legal Compliance & Best Practices – Understand your responsibilities in employee rights, workplace fairness, and accessibility requirements. Real-World Case Studies & Expert Panels – Hear directly from legal experts, HR specialists, and human rights advocates about emerging challenges and solutions.
Thursday, April 30, 2026
Breakfast: 8:00 – 9:00 am
Introductory Remarks: 9:00 – 9:05 am
This session provides a focused review of significant recent and emerging developments in Ontario labour, employment, and human rights law. Specifically, panelists will address:
Caselaw:
- In what circumstances will ‘unconscious bias’ amount to discrimination in hiring or recruitment?
- How do recent decisions affect employers’ obligations to investigate allegations of discrimination and harassment? What trends are emerging in damage awards for discrimination, failure to accommodate, and reprisal?
- When will an employee’s controversial views, whether expressed online or in the workplace, justify discipline, discharge, or damages?
- What forms of disability accommodation do courts and tribunals expect employers to implement? When do requested accommodations cross the line from what is reasonable to undue hardship?
- What limits are courts and arbitrators placing on employer surveillance and monitoring of employees?
- When does the Charter apply to decisions by employers or quasi-governmental bodies, particularly those involving vaccination policies, political expression, return-to-work, or collective bargaining?
Legislation:
This session will also cover recent and upcoming changes to Ontario and federal legislation, including:
- Bill 30, Working for Workers Seven Act, 2025 amendments:
- procedures for fraudulent job postings;
- unpaid leaves for job searches;
- extended layoffs;
- health and safety systems under the Occupational Health and Safety Act; and
- prohibitions on false or misleading statements to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board.
- Canada Labour Code amendments:
- leaves for pregnancy and bereavement;
- replacement workers during strikes and lockouts; and
- non-compete agreements.
- Alberta legislation prohibiting regulatory bodies from disciplining professionals for off-duty conduct
- Alberta legislation prohibiting unions from making contributions to non-collective bargaining clauses without membership approval
- Quebec legislation expanding government power to end lawful strikes
Final selection of topics will take place in the weeks leading up to the conference, ensuring coverage of the latest and most newsworthy developments.
Break: 10:35 – 10:55 am
Investigating allegations of human rights violations in the workplace requires a commitment to understanding best practices, including adopting a trauma-informed approach. Drawing on recent caselaw and best practices, experts will offer insights into conducting or overseeing workplace investigations in the human rights context. Panelists will address the following questions:
- What is a trauma-informed approach? What steps can investigators take to ensure workplace human rights investigations are trauma informed?
- What measures should employers and investigators implement to safeguard the mental well-being of participants during a workplace investigation and protect them from reprisal? Does the union play a role?
- How should employers, unions, and investigators proactively identify and remove accessibility barriers, as well as provide accommodations, during workplace investigations?
- In what circumstances is hiring an external investigator to be preferred over an internal investigation? How can the parties strike a balance between thoroughness and urgency during investigations?
- What information can be shared with a complainant or respondent once an investigation is complete? How should employers communicate investigation results to complainants?
- What obligations do investigators have to disclose their findingsto the parties? What entitlement do the parties have to disclosure?
- Must an employer investigate a human rights allegation even in the absence of a formal complaint? How should anonymous complaints be investigated?
- What risks arise from failing to investigate an allegation? In what situations have damages been awarded for an employer’s failure to investigate a human rights allegation?
- What comes next after a workplace investigation? What does an effective workplace restoration process entail?
Networking lunch: 12:15 – 1:15 pm
Break: 2:00 – 2:20 pm
In this session, panelists will examine the complex human rights challenges – and potential opportunities – arising from the use of emerging technologies in the workplace. Speakers will analyze three scenarios relating to social media use, employee monitoring, and artificial intelligence (“AI”), addressing questions such as:
- When can employers discipline or dismiss employees for inappropriate social media posts or activities? How have arbitrators and adjudicators in recent cases balanced an employee’s freedom to express themselves on social media against the employer’s interest in protecting its reputation and preventing harm to other employees?
- How can employers and unions navigate conflicts between competing human rights that may arise in the context of social media use? For example, how should employers and unions respond when an employee makes an online post that another employee asserts is discriminatory, but which the posting employee claims is protected speech under the Human Rights Code or the Charter?
- What limits do federal and provincial privacy laws place on employee monitoring and surveillance? How have arbitrators and adjudicators balanced employee privacy rights against the employer’s interest in managing productivity? What factors determine whether electronic monitoring crosses the line into unreasonable oversight?
- What potential human rights issues are raised by the use of AI in hiring, promoting, and managing employees? Can AI be used to reduce discrimination and promote equitable, diverse, and inclusive workplaces?
- Can employers and unions be held liable for flaws in AI systems that result in discriminatory hiring and management processes? Will establishment of a human rights review process or reliance on a bias testing be sufficient to shield an organization from liability? What information are unions and employees entitled to when they suspect that use of an AI system is resulting in discrimination at work?
Scenarios will be finalized in the weeks prior to the conference, ensuring coverage of the latest and most pressing issues.
Friday, May 1, 2026
Breakfast: 8:00 – 9:00 am
Introductory Remarks: 9:00 – 9:05 am
Sharon Naipaul
Mediator, Trainer, Coach and Consultant
Strategic Workplace Equity and Conflict Resolution Solutions
Employers are required to balance evolving accommodation obligations with operational demands, performance expectations, and workplace standards.
This panel will explore how employers can identify and respond to accommodation needs in complex situations, manage attendance and performance concerns fairly and consistently, and determine the scope and limits of accommodation over time. Panelists will address key questions, including:
Neurodivergence:
- What does the term “neurodivergent” include? What are similarities and differences between learning disabilities, ADHD, and Autistic Spectrum Disorders (“ASD”)? What can be done to combat stereotypes affecting the inclusion and accommodation of neurodivergent employees and those with mental health issues in the workplace?
- What type of medical information can employers request from neurodivergent employees seeking accommodation, e.g. a neuropsychological or psychoeducational evaluation?
Mental Health:
- What accommodations would be most helpful for employees with the following:
- Learning disabilities
- ASD
- Mental health disorders and conditions (i.e. bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety)
- What signs may indicate that an employee has a mental health condition or other condition that may require accommodation or support? What are more acute signs of immediate distress versus more subtle signs that an employee may be struggling?
- When is a ‘duty to inquire’ about a potential mental health condition or disability triggered?
Substance Use:
- What guidance does recent case law provide on accommodating substance use disorders in the workplace?
Absenteeism:
- What are the components of a successful Attendance Management Program related to the accommodation of an employee’s disability-related absenteeism?
- Can an employee insist on remote work as a form of health-related accommodation? Does an employee’s susceptibility to contracting an illness at the workplace warrant accommodation? What is the type and scope of medical information that is required to support these requests?
- When will the return of an employee to in-person work amount to a bona fide occupational requirement (BFOR)? When will an employer be able to establish that undue hardship will arise if an employee is allowed to work remotely?
- How should employers and unions address increased absenteeism due to RTO? Are there options that help improve attendance?
- What guidance does recent case law offer on when absenteeism moves beyond reasonable accommodation and into undue hardship?
- How does the test for ‘undue hardship’ vary in different safety sensitive industries where substance addiction or other issues that pose safety risks in the workplace?
Break: 10:20 – 10:40 am
In this session, panelists will examine the hidden realities of burnout and compassion fatigue for human rights and labour relations practitioners, addressing questions such as:
- What is burnout? How does it differ from stress, fatigue, or anxiety? What factors have been shown to contribute to burnout?
- What is meant by the terms compassion fatigue and vicarious or secondary trauma? Why are human rights and labour relations practitioners at risk?
- What are the signs and symptoms of burnout and compassion fatigue? How can employers, managers, and employees recognize these conditions? What are the early warning signs?
- Have legal obligations evolved to include a duty for employers to promote mental health and prevent psychosocial harms?
- What tools are available to assist employers and unions to identify organizational issues which may be contributing to burnout or compassion fatigue? What policies and practices should be implemented to address these factors?
- How can leaders within organizations contribute to a culture of wellbeing and support employees who are burned out, overwhelmed, or emotionally exhausted?
- How long does it typically take to recover from burnout and compassion fatigue? How can employers and unions rebuild trust, engagement, and capacity in workplaces where these conditions have been prevalent?
- Are overall systemic changes in the field of labour relations necessary to prevent or ameliorate stress, burnout, and compassion fatigue? If so, what changes need to be made?
- What realistic, sustainable practices can employees and union representatives adopt to maintain their individual health and wellbeing? How can individuals effectively set boundaries, foster self-care, and navigate challenging and emotional files? What is “compassion satisfaction”, and how can employees best sustain healthy and fulfilling careers in human rights and labour relations?
Networking lunch: 11:50 – 12:50 pm
Mediation is a vital tool used to successfully resolve human rights disputes in the workplace. With mediation now mandatory at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (“HRTO”) for applications received on or after June 1, 2025, developing a strong understanding of the mediation process is crucial. This panel will address common challenges surrounding the mediation process and provide attendees with practical takeaways. Specifically, the panel will answer the following questions:
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of mediation in human rights disputes? When will it be beneficial to participate in mediation-adjudication or mediation-arbitration?
- How should the parties approach mandatory mediation at the HRTO? Should the approach to mandatory mediation differ from the approach to voluntary mediation?
- How should the parties assess the merits of a case and determine if a settlement is feasible? What types of files are not appropriate for voluntary mediation?
- How can the parties efficiently prepare for mediation? What information must be gathered?
- How can the parties determine if power imbalances, accessibility barriers, or other barriers to equity will affect the mediation process? What measures can the parties implement to address these barriers?
- Is a “win-win” outcome possible in human rights disputes? What are examples of negotiation strategies and communication techniques that can lead to better outcomes during mediation?
- What information should be included in a settlement agreement?
- What factors should parties consider before suggesting or entering into a non-disclosure agreement (“NDA”) as part of a settlement? Are NDAs appropriate for human rights disputes? Are they prohibited by law?
Break: 2:05 – 2:25 pm
In this session, panelists will provide expert insight into identifying and responding to sexual harassment in the workplace, using real cases to shed light on the application of these principles in practice. The panel will address questions such as:
- How is sexual harassment defined under human rights and occupational health and safety legislation in Ontario and federally? What legal test have adjudicators and arbitrators typically applied when determining whether sexual harassment has occurred? How will collective agreements and workplace policies impact the determination?
- When will off-duty sexual harassment be sufficiently connected to the workplace to bring it under the purview of human rights and occupational health and safety legislation, the collective agreement, and/or the employer’s authority to impose discipline?
- What myths and stereotypes about sexual harassment, in particular with respect to witness credibility, have adjudicators and arbitrators recognized in recent years?
- When does conduct cross the line from sexual harassment into violence under occupational health and safety legislation?
- How have arbitral attitudes changed in terms of appropriate disciplinary responses to sexual harassment? What factors will arbitrators consider? For example, how are factors such as power imbalances, workplace culture, and the impact on the employee who has been harassed taken into account? When will a single instance of sexual harassment be serious enough to warrant dismissal?
- What trends in damage awards are evident in recent sexual harassment cases?
- Is a formal complaint required to trigger an employer’s duty to investigate allegations of sexual harassment? When can an employer be held liable for the actions of an employee? When will sexual harassment be found to have created a poisoned work environment?
- How should employers and unions respond when they receive a sexual harassment complaint? With more employees in remote and hybrid work arrangements, how can employers and unions ensure that sexual harassment does not go unnoticed?
Closing remarks: 3:50 – 4:00 pm
Food and Beverages
Breakfast and lunch to be provided, with a variety of snacks and refreshments available during breaks. Breakfast is provided prior to the workshop and will be available starting at 8:00 am. Please share any dietary requirements at the time of registration so we can best accommodate your needs.
Pricing
Ontario Human Rights and Accommodation Conference – Both Days
$1,995.00Add to cart
Ontario Human Rights and Accommodation Conference – Day 1
$1,195.00Add to cart
Ontario Human Rights and Accommodation Conference – Day 2
$1,195.00Add to cart
Attendees can also register for a skills training workshop offered by our Centre for Labour Relations Training & Development, taking place the day after the conference. The workshop includes panel discussions and hands-on scenarios addressing real workplace human rights challenges and is designed to complement the ON Human Rights and Accommodation Conference. The conference and workshop may be attended separately or as a bundled registration:
Ontario Human Rights and Accommodation Conference & Workshop – Bundle (Conference + Workshop)
$2,690.00Add to cart
Conference Co-Chairs
Advisory Committee
CPD
This program has been approved for Continuing Professional Development 5.17 hours under Section A of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Log of the Human Resource Professionals Association (HRPA).
- Members of the Law Society of Ontario may consider counting this program for 5.17 Substantive hours; 0 Professionalism hours.
This program has been approved for Continuing Professional Development 5.33 hours under Section A of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Log of the Human Resource Professionals Association (HRPA).
- Members of the Law Society of Ontario may consider counting this program for 5.33 Substantive hours; 0 Professionalism hours.