Central Okanagan School District No 23 v Renaud

Central Okanagan School District No 23 v Renaud, [1992] 2 S.C.R. 970 is a leading Supreme Court of Canada decision where the Court found that an employer was under a duty to accommodate the religious beliefs of employees to the point of undue hardship.

Background

Larry Renaud was a unionized custodian in the Central Okanagan School District and a practicing Seventh-day Adventist. Under an employee collective agreement Renaud was required to work on Friday evening, however, due to Renaud's faith he was forbidden from working sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday. He proposed several forms of accommodations where he would work Sunday to Thursday as a religious exception to the collective agreement. The school board rejected the alternatives and eventually terminated his employment.

Renaud brought a complaint on the grounds that the board violated section 8 of the British Columbia Human Rights Act for discrimination based on religion. The issues put to the Supreme Court was whether Renaud was indirectly discriminated against and whether the school was under any duty to accommodate him.

Reasons of the court

Justice Sopkina, writing for a unanimous Court, held that there was discrimination against Renaud. Sopinka found that an employer was under a duty to accommodate employees religious beliefs short of undue hardship even despite any collective agreement or private contract.

See also

• Ontario Human Rights Commission and O'Malley v. Simpsons-Sears Ltd.
• Seventh-day Adventist Church

External links

• Full text of Supreme Court of Canada decision at LexUM and CanLII