Testing for HIV infection would constitute a medical examination. It is the OHRC's position that any medical examination carried out for employment purposes should focus on verifying whether or not an individual is able to perform the essential duties of a particular job.

Employers considering any form of employment-related medical testing should refer to the OHRC's Human Rights At Work, 3rd. Ed. (2008) and the Policy on Employment-Related Medical Information.

Discrimination or unequal treatment may be legally defensible in certain circumstances.

1. Participating in special interest organizations

First, s. 18 of the Code provides that religious, philanthropic, educational, fraternal or social institutions that are primarily engaged in serving the interests of persons who are identified by their creed, may give priority to persons of the same creed with regard to participation or membership.

Dress codes, work schedules or shift work sometimes adversely affect individuals because of religious requirements. When this happens, the obligation to accommodate the individual, based on the needs of the group, is triggered under the Code.

This guide aims to encourage and support police services across Ontario in their work as it relates to upholding the Ontario Human Rights Code. The development of this guide is built on the experience gained in a three-year collaborative human rights organizational change project between the Ontario Human Rights Commission (the OHRC), the Toronto Police Service (TPS) and the Toronto Police Services Board (TPSB). The principled human rights approach elaborated in the guide can help police services better serve the needs of Ontario’s increasingly diverse communities, and draw on the strengths of police services’ own internal diversity.