Court extends human rights protection to family leave
An Ottawa civil servant has won a groundbreaking court decision that extends federal human rights protection to family leave.
Tracey Patterson, an auditor with the Canada Revenue Agency, lost out last year on two promotional chances because she had taken more than three years of family leave to care for her children. The CRA said her family leave disqualified her from consideration for the jobs, which required "recent and significant experience."That experience was defined as relevant work "for a period of time of not less than 24 months within the past five years."In a ruling released earlier this month, Federal Court Judge Judith Snider deemed that policy discriminatory."In my view," the judge concluded, "there is no principled reason why family leave should be any differently treated under the Canadian Human Rights Act than maternity leave." Snider ordered the CRA to reconsider Patterson's two applications for the advertised jobs.If it stands, the ruling means that federal employees who take family leave to care for children or elderly parents will have powerful new legal protection in the workplace similar to that afforded new mothers.
Tracey Patterson, an auditor with the Canada Revenue Agency, lost out last year on two promotional chances because she had taken more than three years of family leave to care for her children. The CRA said her family leave disqualified her from consideration for the jobs, which required "recent and significant experience."
That experience was defined as relevant work "for a period of time of not less than 24 months within the past five years."
In a ruling released earlier this month, Federal Court Judge Judith Snider deemed that policy discriminatory.
"In my view," the judge concluded, "there is no principled reason why family leave should be any differently treated under the Canadian Human Rights Act than maternity leave." Snider ordered the CRA to reconsider Patterson's two applications for the advertised jobs.
If it stands, the ruling means that federal employees who take family leave to care for children or elderly parents will have powerful new legal protection in the workplace similar to that afforded new mothers.
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