The duty to accommodate is not a fixed checklist. It requires attention to a person’s needs, the applicable legal setting and the available options. Nova Scotia’s Human Rights Commission provides primary public guidance on accommodation in employment and in access to services.
Primary sources checked: September 24, 2026. Check the latest official text and the date of any amendment before relying on a particular legal rule.
What an accommodation may involve
Accommodation can mean adjusting a rule, practice, condition or requirement to account for a protected characteristic. In an employment setting, examples may include changes to working arrangements, tasks or equipment. In a service setting, the relevant options can look different. The Human Rights Commission explains both settings on its duty-to-accommodate page.
A request should identify the barrier and the adjustment sought. An accommodation process involves communication; it should not be reduced to an assumption that one preferred adjustment is automatically required.
Undue hardship and participation
The Commission describes accommodation up to the point of undue hardship. Its guidance identifies circumstances that may be considered, such as safety, cost and the operation involved. The Commission also describes employee cooperation with reasonable requests for relevant information. These are fact-sensitive considerations rather than a standard outcome for every organization.
For a workplace matter, keep communications, relevant policies, job requirements and options discussed. Employers should avoid asking for more sensitive information than is reasonably relevant to assessing the accommodation need.
What to do when the process breaks down
Identify the policy or decision creating the barrier; record requests, responses and alternatives; and check which human-rights body has jurisdiction. The provincial Commission’s inquiry and complaint materials explain its process and timing criteria. Different statutes or collective agreements may also matter in a particular workplace.
An unanswered request, a disputed adjustment and an adjudicated discrimination finding are different things. Read the original law and Commission materials before drawing conclusions about any individual case.