I have taken three different situations:

1. Reasonable Accommodation by Employers as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act

2. Minimizing the Risks of Vicarious Tort Liability (Under Contract Act).

3. Equal Opportunity ( Equal Opportunities Law)

Reasonable Accommodation by Employers as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act

The ADA the Americans with Disabilities Act gives civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities similar to those provided to individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, and religion. ADA guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in public accommodations, employment, transportation, State and local government services, and telecommunications (Job Accommodation Network, 2005). Examples of reasonable accommodation include making existing facilities used by employees readily accessible to and usable by an individual with a disability; restructuring a job; modifying work schedules; acquiring or modifying equipment; providing qualified readers or interpreters; or appropriately modifying examinations, training, or other programs.

The decision as to the appropriate accommodation must be based on the particular facts of each case. In selecting the particular type of reasonable accommodation to provide, the principal test is that of effectiveness, i.e., whether the accommodation will provide an opportunity for a person with a disability to achieve the same level of performance and to enjoy benefits equal to those of an average, similarly situated person without a disability. An employer is only required to accommodate a "known" disability of a qualified applicant or employee. The requirement generally will be triggered by a request from an individual with a disability, who frequently will be able to suggest an appropriate accommodation. Accommodations must be made on an individual basis, because the nature and extent of a disabling condition and the requirements of a job will vary in each case.

If the individual does not request an accommodation, the employer is not obligated to provide one except in certain situations.

Meaning of Vicarious Liability

Vicarious liability is a form of secondary liability that arises under the common law doctrine of agency - respondeat superior - the responsibility of the superior for the acts of their subordinate and can be distinguished from contributory liability, another form of secondary liability, which is rooted in the tort theory of enterprise liability.

From a public policy point of view, vicarious liability is designed to ensure that parties undertaking risky enterprises take all reasonable measures to reduce the risk.
It is a form of risk allocation, in keeping with the logic behind tort law in Canada; namely, losses will be suffered in our modern world, and we should be aware of the losses we cause, and should try to reduce the risks of such losses, or compensate for such losses when appropriate. As Chief Justice McLachlin stated in Bennett:

"Vicarious liability is based on the rationale that the person who puts a risky enterprise into the community may fairly be held responsible when those risks emerge and cause loss or injury to members of the public. Effective compensation is a goal. Deterrence is also a consideration. The hope is that holding the employer or principal liable will encourage such persons to take steps to reduce the risk of harm in the future.

Implications and recommendations

Employer liability. An employer is vicariously liable for negligent acts or omissions by his employee in the course of employment, whether or not such an act or omission was specifically authorised by the employer.
The doctrine of vicarious liability provides that an employer is liable for the torts of an employee under an agency theory, even if the employer did nothing wrong; negligent entrustment, however, requires proof of actual negligence on part of the employer before the injury occurred, when the entrustee was entrusted with the dangerous instrumentality.

The doctrine of vicarious liability imposes liability upon an employer or principal for the conduct of an employee or agent, on the grounds that the employer or principal should be held accountable for losses to third parties that arise from the actions of the employer or principal. Unlike the principle of direct liability, vicarious liability does not require that the employer or principal actually cause the loss sustained by the third party. Liability is imposed on the employer or principal with the rationale that the loss is the result of a reasonably foreseeable risk and attributable to the employer's or principal's activities, and that it is reasonable that the employer or principal should be liable for the risk.

To avoid vicarious liability

An employer must demonstrate either that the employee was not negligent in that the employee was reasonably careful or that the employee had gone on a "frolic and detour", wherein the employee was acting in his own right rather than on the employer's business. An employer is generally not held liable for the intentional torts of employees, unless the use of force was part of their employment (e.g. police officers, nightclub bouncers), or they were in a field likely to create friction with persons they encountered (e.g. car repossessors). However, the employer of an independent contractor is not held vicariously liable for the tortious acts of the contractor, except where the contractor injures an invitee to the property of the employer.

An intentional tort is a category of torts that describes a civil wrong resulting from an intentional act on the part of the tortfeasor. The level of intent required to render a party liable for an intentional tort has been described as "substantial certainty" that the result would occur.

Common law intentional torts include:

* Assault
* Battery
* False imprisonment
* Intentional infliction of emotional distress
* Trespass to land
* Trespass to chattels
* Conversion
(Wikipedia)

Equal Opportunity

Equal opportunity is a descriptive term for an approach intended to give equal access to an environment or benefits, such as education, employment, health care, or social welfare to all, often with emphasis on members of various social groups which might have at some time suffered from discrimination. This can involve the hiring of workers and other such practices. Social groupings generally emphasized in such a way are those delineated by aspects of gender, race, or religion. Equal opportunity practices that are race-blind or gender-blind may be distinguished from practices that involve or require affirmative action or reverse discrimination. The United States federal government and various state and local governments require affirmative action in terms of governmental hiring and contracting; many other countries make such action illegal.

APPLICATION

What laws does the EEOC enforce and do they apply to my business?

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) prohibits race, color, religion, sex, and national origin discrimination. Title VII applies to:

* employers with fifteen (15) or more employees

Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) prohibits age discrimination against individuals who are forty (40) years of age or older. The ADEA applies to:

* employers with twenty (20) or more employees

Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) prohibits employment discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities. The ADA applies to:

* employers with fifteen (15) or more employees

Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA) prohibits wage discrimination between men and women in substantially equal jobs within the same establishment. The EPA applies to:

* most employers with one or more employees

These laws prohibit employment discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, and prohibit retaliation for opposing job discrimination, filing a charge, or participating in proceedings under these laws.
Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), it is illegal to discriminate in any aspect of employment, including:

* hiring and firing;
* compensation, assignment, or classification of employees;
* transfer, promotion, layoff, or recall;
* job advertisements;
* recruitment;
* testing;
* use of company facilities;
* training and apprenticeship programs;
* fringe benefits;
* pay, retirement plans, and disability leave; or
* other terms and conditions of employment.

Discriminatory practices under these laws also include:

* harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or age;
* retaliation against an individual for filing a charge of discrimination, participating in an investigation, or opposing discriminatory practices;
* employment decisions based on stereotypes or assumptions about the abilities, traits, or performance of individuals of a certain sex, race, age, religion, or ethnic group, or individuals with disabilities; and
* denying employment opportunities to a person because of marriage to, or association with, an individual of a particular race, religion, national origin, or an individual with a disability. Title VII also prohibits discrimination because of participation in schools or places of worship associated with a particular racial, ethnic, or religious group.

Employers are required to post notices to all employees advising them of their rights under the laws EEOC enforces and their right to be free from retaliation. Such notices must be accessible, as needed, to persons with visual or other disabilities that affect reading.