Issues Affecting the HR Profession is a collection of publicly available, free, and up-to-date resources on a wide variety of topics that are relevant to HR professionals. These resources include information about employment legislation, government resources, and links to websites with useful materials on many common HR issues.
Accessibility
AccessForward
Government of Ontario – Accessibility Laws
Government of Ontario – Accessibility rules for businesses and non-profits
Government of Ontario – Accessibility rules for public sector organizations
Government of Ontario – Completing Your Accessibility Compliance Report
Government of Ontario – Accessibility: legislative reviews, committees and councils
Ontario Human Rights Commission – Working Together: The Code and the AODA
Workplace Strategies for Mental Health
Conference Board of Canada- Accessibility Employer’s Toolkit
Cannabis & Substance Use
Government of Ontario – Cannabis Legalization
Ministry of Labour- Impairment and Workplace Health and Safety
Ontario Human Rights Commission – Policy on Drug and Alcohol Testing
Ontario Human Rights Commission – Requesting Job-Related Sensitive Information
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety – Substance Abuse in the Workplace
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety – Workplace Strategies: Risk of Impairment from Cannabis
HRPA – Clearing the Haze
Diversity & Inclusion
HRPA & Diversio
Key Insights on Diversity & Inclusion: A Joint HRPA and Diversio Report
Inclusive Hiring Best Practices
Standard Code of Conduct
Zero Tolerance Policy
Unconscious Bias: Eliminating Racism, Sexism, Homophobia and other Discrimination
Leadership Allyship Training
Ontario Human Rights Commission
Policy and Guidelines on Racism and Racial Discrimination
Workplace Policies, Practices and Decision-Making Processes and Systemic Discrimination
Call it Out: Racism, Racial Discrimination and Human Rights
A policy primer: Guide to developing human rights policies and procedures
Policy on ableism and discrimination based on disability
Human Rights at Work 2008- More about disability-related accommodation
Policy on preventing discrimination because of gender identity and gender expression
Questions and answers about gender identity and pronouns
Count me in! Collecting human rights-based data
Additional Resources Supporting Diversity & Inclusion in the Workplace
Canadian Institute of Diversity and Inclusion – Toolkits and Resources
Canadian Institute of Diversity and Inclusion – Research Reports
Deloitte – The Diversity and Inclusion Revolution
CIPD – Building Inclusive Workplaces
HR Exchange Network – Embracing Diversity and Inclusion
Statistics Canada – Gender Diversity and Inclusion Statistics
Transgender Law Centre – Model Transgender Employment Policy
University of Washington- D.E.I. Checklist for interviewing/hiring committees
General & Sexual Harassment
Ministry of Labour Workplace Violence and Workplace Harassment
Ministry of Labour – Understand the law on workplace violence and harassment
Ministry of Labour – Workplace Harassment: Investigation by the Employer
Ministry of Labour – Workplace Harassment: Investigations by an Impartial Person
Ontario Human Rights Commission – Policy on preventing sexual and gender-based harassment
HRPA – Doing Our Duty: Preventing Sexual Harassment In The Workplace
Hiring
Human Rights
Ontario Human Rights Commission
Human Rights at Work 2008 – Third Edition
Ontario Human Rights Commission – Policies and guidelines
Guide to your rights and responsibilities under the Human Rights Code
Ministry of the Solicitor General – Police Record Checks
Canadian Human Rights Commission
Canadian Human Rights Act
Occupational Health & Safety
Ontario Ministry of Labour – Health and Safety
Ontario Ministry of Labour – Guide to the Occupational Health and Safety Act
Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS)
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS)
Health and Safety Awareness Training for Workers and Supervisors
Posters required in the workplace
Joint Health and Safety Committees
Government of Canada – Workplace health and safety
Record Keeping
Ontario Ministry of Labour – Record Keeping
Ontario Human Rights Commission – Interviewing and making hiring decisions
Government of Canada – Keeping records
Government of Canada – GST/HST and payroll records
The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada- Privacy Guide for Businesses
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada- PIPEDA fair information principles
Mondaq- Why Have A Document Retention Policy?
Working Remotely
Government of Canada- Sample Policy Working Remotely
Government of Canada- Working Remotely Tips for Team Members
Government of Canada- Working Remotely Tips for Team Leaders
Government of Canada- Mental health tips for working from home
CCOHS – Telework / Telecommuting
Canadian Centre for Cyber Security – Telework Security Issues
CCOHS – Telework and Home Office Health and Safety Guide
Training Industry – Best Practices for Managing a Telecommuting Team
Forbes – Six Ideas for Leading Your Team Remotely
HR Dive – Interact intentionally: How HR can encourage effective online meetings
ADP- Effective remote employee feedback
Venngo- Driving company culture in the time of distributed workforces
KPMG- Leading practices for remote working
Canadian HR Reporter- Do you have a remote work policy?
HR Exchange Network- Virtual Harassment in the Workplace: How Bullying and Misconduct Moves Online
Governmental Resources
The links below provide information and resources from both the Government of Ontario partner organizations and the Federal government. You will also find important links for contacting key government offices and the Law Society Referral Service
The resources on this page are intended for general information purposes only and are not to be taken as legal advice or endorsement by HRPA. While we make every effort to keep these resources updated, resources supplied by third parties may change and HRPA cannot guarantee that the links on this page reflect the latest information available, nor can we guarantee the accuracy of information provided by third parties.