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August 13, 2020

My employees are making disparaging remarks against Asians because they blame COVID-19 on China. We are worried about our Asian employees. What can we do?

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  5. My employees are making disparaging remarks against Asians because they blame COVID-19 on China. We are worried about our Asian employees. What can we do?

Members of Asian communities in Canada and around the world have been facing racism and discrimination as a result of misinformation and stereotypes about the communities perceived to be associated with the virus. 

A crisis can bring out shameful aspects of crowd behaviour, including xenophobia and other forms of discrimination. It is important to note that human rights and occupational health and safety protections also extend to ensuring that employees are not harassed, bullied or mistreated in the course of their employment because of their race, ancestry, or place of origin. In some cases, employers may need to respond to insensitive and possibly discriminatory conduct directed at their workers by co-workers, suppliers, or members of the public.

Most human rights commissions have issued a warning against discrimination based on ethnic or national origin as concerns over COVID-19 grow. Under human right legislation across Canada, it is illegal to discriminate against anyone based on their ethnic or national origin, race or colour. Human right legislation protects against discrimination “based on an irrational fear of contracting an illness or disease.”

An employer’s legal obligations under human rights legislation continue to apply in dealing with employees who have potentially been exposed to COVID-19. Employers should balance the duty of care owed to their entire staff against the rights and obligations of individual employees. 

Considerate handling of a global crisis like this can reinforce an organization’s values and boost a healthy employee relations climate. Therefore, employers should emphasize their anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies and remind employees of dignity and respect when interacting with each other.

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Article by firstreference

Note: This page provided by First Reference is for employers needing more information on the impact, rules and best practices for addressing the global novel coronavirus pandemic also known as COVID-19. (Last updated July 20, 2020, at 11:55 p.m.). The first batch of questions discusses the broad issues related to COVID-19 and government responses. The second batch of questions are frequently asked questions by employers needing more information on the impact COVID-19 has on the application of their workplace practices and policies for addressing the global coronavirus pandemic.

The circumstances and potential consequences for employers in connection with COVID-19 continue to evolve each day. We recognize that change resulting from COVID-19 is happening in real-time. We will keep you up-to-date with measures put in place by Canadian governments to help with these issues as they are implemented as soon as we can and details are available, by updating this page. Also, when making hard decisions to protect your employees, customers and your business, we strongly recommend seeking the advice of a lawyer to avoid any liability.

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