{"id":{"repo_id":"uwo","oai_identifier":"oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/33865"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uwo/oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/33865","repository":{"repo_id":"uwo","name":"Western University","base_url":"https://uwo.scholaris.ca/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Accommodating Complex Disabilities: Chronic Pain Disorders in the Canadian Workplace","abstract":"The duty of accommodation has enabled great progress in Canadian human rights law for persons with disabilities, particularly in the workplace. However, persons with chronic pain disorders have faced greater challenges in accessing the accommodation duty’s promise of equality, which is demonstrated through caselaw analysis. To assess the efficacy of the accommodation of persons with chronic pain disorders, we must answer three questions: (1) what is the theoretical understanding of disability and chronic pain disorders; (2) how are chronic pain disorders accommodated practically (using the workplace as our social illustration); and, (3) what happens after accommodation fails. A hierarchy of disabilities in terms of legitimacy and access to rights has developed, in which chronic pain disorders fall lower than “mainstream” disabilities, primarily due to a lack of medical legitimacy. Thus, persons with chronic pain disorders are subject to differential treatment on the basis of their disability, which is potentially discriminatory.","abstract_html":"The duty of accommodation has enabled great progress in Canadian human rights law for persons with disabilities, particularly in the workplace. However, persons with chronic pain disorders have faced greater challenges in accessing the accommodation duty’s promise of equality, which is demonstrated through caselaw analysis. To assess the efficacy of the accommodation of persons with chronic pain disorders, we must answer three questions: (1) what is the theoretical understanding of disability and chronic pain disorders; (2) how are chronic pain disorders accommodated practically (using the workplace as our social illustration); and, (3) what happens after accommodation fails. A hierarchy of disabilities in terms of legitimacy and access to rights has developed, in which chronic pain disorders fall lower than “mainstream” disabilities, primarily due to a lack of medical legitimacy. Thus, persons with chronic pain disorders are subject to differential treatment on the basis of their disability, which is potentially discriminatory.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Abbas, Maia"],"institution":"The University of Western Ontario","degree_name":"LLM","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Law","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Michael Lynk"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-07-08","date_published":"2016-07-08","updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:55:56Z","subjects":["disability","labour","accommodation","undue hardship","equality","human rights"],"languages":["en_ca"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/33865","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Michael Lynk"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Abbas, Maia"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-07-10T19:56:11Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-07-10T19:56:11Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2016-07-08"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["The University of Western Ontario"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Law"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["LLM"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["disability","labour","accommodation","undue hardship","equality","human rights"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en_ca"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/33865"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["The thesis cover page in the PDF document includes references to Western University’s previous institutional repository platform, known as Scholarship@Western, and links to that platform (beginning with ir.lib.uwo.ca). In citing or referring to this thesis, use the DOI or handle from this page instead. Sample citation: Author name, \"Thesis title.\" (Year). Western University Open Repository. https://doi.org/10.71858/123456."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The duty of accommodation has enabled great progress in Canadian human rights law for persons with disabilities, particularly in the workplace. However, persons with chronic pain disorders have faced greater challenges in accessing the accommodation duty’s promise of equality, which is demonstrated through caselaw analysis. To assess the efficacy of the accommodation of persons with chronic pain disorders, we must answer three questions: (1) what is the theoretical understanding of disability and chronic pain disorders; (2) how are chronic pain disorders accommodated practically (using the workplace as our social illustration); and, (3) what happens after accommodation fails. A hierarchy of disabilities in terms of legitimacy and access to rights has developed, in which chronic pain disorders fall lower than “mainstream” disabilities, primarily due to a lack of medical legitimacy. Thus, persons with chronic pain disorders are subject to differential treatment on the basis of their disability, which is potentially discriminatory."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Accommodating Complex Disabilities: Chronic Pain Disorders in the Canadian Workplace"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Michael Lynk"],"dc:creator":["Abbas, Maia"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-07-10T19:56:11Z"],"dc:date.available":["2025-07-10T19:56:11Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2016-07-08"],"dc:description":["The thesis cover page in the PDF document includes references to Western University’s previous institutional repository platform, known as Scholarship@Western, and links to that platform (beginning with ir.lib.uwo.ca). In citing or referring to this thesis, use the DOI or handle from this page instead. Sample citation: Author name, \"Thesis title.\" (Year). Western University Open Repository. https://doi.org/10.71858/123456."],"dc:description.abstract":["The duty of accommodation has enabled great progress in Canadian human rights law for persons with disabilities, particularly in the workplace. However, persons with chronic pain disorders have faced greater challenges in accessing the accommodation duty’s promise of equality, which is demonstrated through caselaw analysis. To assess the efficacy of the accommodation of persons with chronic pain disorders, we must answer three questions: (1) what is the theoretical understanding of disability and chronic pain disorders; (2) how are chronic pain disorders accommodated practically (using the workplace as our social illustration); and, (3) what happens after accommodation fails. A hierarchy of disabilities in terms of legitimacy and access to rights has developed, in which chronic pain disorders fall lower than “mainstream” disabilities, primarily due to a lack of medical legitimacy. Thus, persons with chronic pain disorders are subject to differential treatment on the basis of their disability, which is potentially discriminatory."],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/33865"],"dc:language.iso":["en_ca"],"dc:publisher":["The University of Western Ontario"],"dc:subject":["disability","labour","accommodation","undue hardship","equality","human rights"],"dc:title":["Accommodating Complex Disabilities: Chronic Pain Disorders in the Canadian Workplace"],"dc:type":["thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Law"],"thesis:degree_name":["LLM"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:55:56Z"}