Author Archives: Sahani Samarappuli

About Sahani Samarappuli

Sahani Samarappuli is a 2020 Juris Doctor candidate at the University of Calgary Faculty of Law. Sahani received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Calgary in 2016, and she is currently working as a Research Assistant at the Alberta Civil Liberties Research Centre.

At What Stage does the Duty of Self-Accommodation Arise in a Discrimination Analysis?

By: Sahani Samarappuli

PDF Version: At What Stage does the Duty of Self-Accommodation Arise in a Discrimination Analysis?

Case Commented On: United Nurses of Alberta v Alberta Health Services, 2019 ABQB 255 (CanLII)

As noted in previous posts (see here), the definition of discrimination on the basis of family status has been extended recently to include recognition of childcare responsibilities (see e.g. Canada (Attorney General) v Johnstone, 2014 FCA 110 (CanLII), SMS Equipment v Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union, 2015 ABQB 162 (CanLII), both cases discussed below). However, the point at which employers’ duty to accommodate is triggered remains controversial. In particular, the question remains as to how a complainant’s duty of self-accommodation should be dealt with in the discrimination analysis. Continue reading