Employers have many legal obligations to their employees, including ensuring that the workplace is free from discrimination. This includes discrimination based on sexual orientation and identity – which is becoming a concern on several fronts in society.
Recently, the LGBTQ2S+ community has faced some challenges as some public bodies and organizations seem to have it in their sights. The governments of New Brunswick and Saskatchewan, for example, have made moves to prevent children under the age of 16 from changing their names or pronouns in school without parental permission. Elsewhere, battles have erupted in some Catholic school boards over the flying of the Pride flag, while instances of municipalities taking down symbols celebrating Pride have been in the news.
While these examples have occurred in school environments and the public realm, they can be relevant in the workplace context in relation to employer policies and practices. Recognizing diversity and celebrating events such as Pride can build a positive workplace culture, but changing direction like some municipalities and school boards have done could raise some issues, according to employment lawyer Nhi Huynh of Williams HR Law in the Greater Toronto Area.
