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Should you’re increasing your small business from the US to Canada, it’s a good suggestion to brush up on how the employment laws differ between the 2 international locations. Whereas laws could seem related at first look, following the US guidelines and laws you’ve grown accustomed to for workers in Canada may get you into authorized hassle with the Human Rights Fee.
Whereas there are many variations to count on by way of payroll, taxes, and employment requirements when increasing into Canada, we’d prefer to take a second in the present day to debate the variations in drug testing and background checks.
Within the US, drug testing and background checks usually go hand in hand. They’re a typical precursor to employment for a lot of industries and positions—significantly these the place heavy equipment is used. It’s so frequent that it’s virtually an expectation in the course of the pre-employment course of. In truth, the US is the one nation on the earth the place drug testing is used to a big diploma, in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Fee.
Quite the opposite, drug testing in Canada isn’t permitted as a part of the pre-employment course of.
Whereas your solely aim could also be to create a secure office, drug testing in Canada shouldn’t be definitely worth the authorized threat with the Human Rights Fee. Additional, nearly all of Canadian employers will not be permitted to keep up random drug testing insurance policies throughout employment. Most often, random drug testing of staff is taken into account discriminatory and is seen as a violation of primary rights. The Ontario Human Rights Code, for instance, states that employers can not discriminate towards staff as a consequence of drug or alcohol dependence or abuse as a incapacity.
In Canada, a hazard to the office doesn’t stand as an computerized justification for random drug testing. However there are exceptions to the rule, equivalent to administering a drug check for safety-sensitive positions the place an accident or incident may trigger irreparable damages or demise.
For instance, an employer might decide that transportation is a safety-sensitive place. Although this will likely appear an easy choice, counsel ought to nonetheless be consulted earlier than implementing a drug testing coverage.
Even in these instances, there have to be a hyperlink between impairment and job efficiency. A 3-part check may be utilized to find out whether or not your office can justify discriminatory guidelines:
- Is there an goal foundation for believing that job efficiency might be impaired by medicine or alcohol?
- For particular staff, is there an goal foundation for believing that recurring absences, lateness, or erratic behaviour are associated to alcoholism or drug dependancy?
- Is there an goal foundation to imagine that the chance triggered may adversely have an effect on the protection of coworkers or the general public?
Additional, affordable price and post-accident drug checks might also be performed in some instances the place the employer has affordable trigger to suspect impairment at work.
Testing Optimistic for Marijuana in Canada
The place the legal guidelines on hashish differ from state to state and on the federal stage within the US, marijuana is legalized for each medicinal and leisure use in Canada. Although leisure use is lawful, the legal guidelines are just like these concerning alcohol: use is prohibited within the office. Because of this staff will not be permitted to make use of marijuana earlier than or throughout their shift.
Because of the legalities, it is suggested that organizations implement clear insurance policies concerning drug use. Whereas pre-employment drug screening is minimal and testing throughout employment is extremely regulated, there could also be circumstances the place a drug check is allowed and needed. Testing optimistic for marijuana in the course of the pre-employment drug screening is probably going not sufficient to withdraw a proposal or refuse to rent a candidate. Since marijuana can stay within the system for an prolonged time, will probably be tough to show if somebody was beneath the affect throughout work hours, making it tough to terminate employment for a optimistic end result.
What about psychedelics?
The usage of psychedelics in therapeutic settings is rising globally. It’s thought-about a breakthrough remedy for well being circumstances like melancholy, nervousness, and PTSD. Whereas that is solely simply being launched—Alberta is presently the one province regulating—it could be one thing to contemplate afterward. Drug insurance policies needs to be up to date frequently as new legal guidelines and laws are put in place.
The variations between background screening in Canada and the US are much less stark. Background checks are thought-about frequent observe within the US. In Canada, they’re used much less steadily as a part of the pre-employment course of. Usually, they’re solely performed on potential staff who shall be working straight with cash, weak individuals, or extremely delicate data.
Though there is no such thing as a legislation prohibiting US corporations from performing background checks on potential Canadian staff, doing so may improve the size of the hiring course of and hurt the candidate expertise.
Should you work for an American firm seeking to rent distant staff in Canada, it’s finest to have a great understanding of the variations in guidelines and laws between the 2 international locations. Alternatively, you would have interaction knowledgeable employer group (PEO) to deal with the duty of legislative and authorized compliance, payroll, and human sources to your Canadian staff. This partnership will assist make sure you stay compliant in your worker onboarding and administration processes.
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