Language selector

Record of offences

In employment, a person cannot be discriminated against in employment because of a “record of offences.” Employment decisions cannot be based on whether a person has been convicted and pardoned for an offence under a federal law, such as the Criminal Code, or convicted under a provincial law, such as the Highway Traffic Act. This provision applies to convictions only, and not to situations where charges only have been laid.

Employers must look at a person’s record of offences and consider whether the offence would have a real effect on the person’s ability to do the job and risk associated with them doing it. Employers can refuse to hire someone based on a record of offences only if they can show this is a reasonable and bona fide qualification.

Examples of this might be:

  • A bus driver with serious or repeated driving convictions
  • A daycare worker who works alone with children who is convicted of child sexual abuse in a daycare setting.

Relevant guide:

  2. Where driving is an essential duty of a job

    From: Policy on requiring a driver's licence as a condition of employment

    For positions where driving is an essential duty of the job, a question relating to whether or not an applicant is licensed to drive, and/or the type of vehicle the applicant is licensed to drive, would be appropriate. The legitimate needs of the employer and the concerns of the applicant might be served by including the following statement on an application form or in a job advertisement:

    This position requires the successful candidate to have a valid driver's licence. The successful candidate would have to provide proof that s/he has a valid driver's licence upon being hired.

  3. Letter to Chief Paul Cook, Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) President

    August 1, 2014

    Chief Paul Cook
    President, Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police

    Dear Chief Cook,

    On behalf of the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC), I would like to congratulate the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) for its updated version of the LEARN Guideline for Police Record Checks with a clearer presumption against disclosure of non-conviction records.

  4. Prisoners' Justice Day: Significant barriers to progress remain 42 years later

    August 10, 2016

    On August 10, 1974, Edward Nolan died by suicide in a segregation cell at Millhaven Institution in Bath, Ontario. Each year on August 10, we commemorate Prisoners' Justice Day to remember Nolan and all of the prisoners who have died in custody, and to renew calls to respect the basic human rights of prisoners housed in jails, correctional centres, and penitentiaries across the country.

  5. Submission of the Ontario Human Rights Commission to the Ministry of the Solicitor General on the proposed amendments to the segregation provisions in Regulation 778 under the Ministry of Correctional Services Act

    September 24, 2019

    On August 26, 2019, Ontario’s Ministry of the Solicitor General (the Ministry) announced proposed amendments to Regulation 778 under the Ministry of Correctional Services Act. The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) welcomes the opportunity to provide this submission on the amendments related to segregation.

  6. OHRC and corrections workers call for dedicated funding to address crisis in Ontario corrections

    January 21, 2020

    In an unprecedented joint submission the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) and OPSEU Corrections Management-Employee Relations Committee (MERC), which represents front line correctional staff, are calling on the Ontario government to dedicate funds in the 2020 Budget to address the crisis in Ontario’s correctional system.

  7. Joint submission to Ontario’s consultation on the 2020 budget: Necessary investments in Ontario’s correctional system

    January 21, 2020

     

    Introduction

    This joint submission identifies concrete investments that should be earmarked in Ontario’s 2020 budget to protect the health and safety of vulnerable and marginalized Ontarians incarcerated in provincial institutions and the brave men and women working inside them.

Pages