Sometimes employers find that they cannot accommodate persons with disabilities in some jobs. If a requirement of a job cannot change, it is called a "bona fide requirement". "Bona fide" means that the requirement is truly needed, and that it is not being used to keep people with disabilities out of the job.
You should look carefully at the requirements for every job. Do the requirements keep some groups of people from being able to do the job? If any requirement does, you must show that it is a "bona fide requirement". The only way to prove that a requirement is "bona fide" is to use the three principles that the Supreme Court of Canada expressed in the 1999 Meiorin case.
If you can answer “yes” to these three questions, the job requirement is considered ‘bona fide’.
* Undue hardship means that the cost would be too great or a safety risk is too high to be reasonable, and that a business would suffer as a result.
To read examples from everyday workplace situations, follow the links in each question.
| Sample Job Requirement | Is this standard valid? | Why? |
|---|---|---|
A physical test for a firefighter |
Yes |
It is reasonable to expect that firefighters be in good physical condition. |
No employees with limited peripheral vision are allowed to drive a vehicle |
No |
Some people with this kind of impairment can drive. It is better to find out whether a standard driving test checks peripheral vision. Or, find out if there is a specific test to find out whether employees with this disability can safely operate a vehicle. |
Employees responsible for selling donuts must pass a typing test |
No |
 People do not need to type to serve donuts. A reasonable requirement would be asking employees to show they can operate a cash register or to read the labels on different kinds of donuts. |
| Sample Job Requirement | Is this standard valid? | Why? |
|---|---|---|
A physical test for a firefighter |
Maybe |
If the test was truly adopted to make sure that people hired to be firefighters can do the job, the requirement is allowed. If the test was actually adopted to make sure that no women were hired, the requirement would not be allowed. |
| Sample Job Requirement | Comments |
|---|---|
A physical test for a firefighter |
 Does the test exclude some groups of people, like women or people with disabilities? If it does, the employer will have to show that the test truly measures whether people can do all of the things firefighters need to do. |
Must work night shift |
 An employer that runs a shift operation may feel that every employee must be able to work all shifts. If one employee cannot work night shift, they can be assigned to day shift. The business will not be affected, so the employer cannot say they will not accommodate the employee. The business could be negatively affected if 15 out of 20 people ask to only work day shifts. In that case, night shift could be a bona fide requirement of the job. |
No employees with limited peripheral vision are allowed to drive a vehicle |
 If people need peripheral vision to do the job, and the test for peripheral vision is expensive, the employer might say that it costs too much to test each employee. The test would only be an &lsquo'undue hardship’ if
|
At a marina, people who have “manic” episodes cannot operate fishing boats for clients |
 It is reasonable to say that employees cannot operate a fishing boat when they are having a manic episode. But can an employer refuse to hire an employee who has 'manic' episodes because they do not want to risk public, employee or customer safety? To do this, the employer would have to show
|
In the 1999 Meiorin case, the Supreme Court said how to test whether a qualification or requirement is bona fide.
An employer may justify the impugned standard by establishing on the balance of probabilities:
For further information about this case, read the case summary provided by The Learning Disabilities Associaton of Canada.