u/Far-Original7615

Hi everyone, looking for some advice on Canadian labor laws and human rights.

I have a 2-year-old son who has been experiencing severe behavioral issues. He hits, gets aggressive, and completely stopped sleeping at night (staying awake until 5:00 AM). My husband works mornings, and I was working the night shift. Because of our schedules and his sleep issues, we had no one else to watch him, and I was completely sleep-deprived trying to work nights.

I took my son to his doctor, who recommended I contact the mental health department for help and strongly advised that I stay home to care for him right now.

I applied for a medical leave through my employer. Initially, they approved the leave, but they told me I had to provide a second doctor's note using a specific form that they provided to me. They warned me that if I was unable to get the doctor to sign this specific document, my leave would be denied. At no point during this initial conversation did they mention that my child needed to be "critically ill" to qualify.

I had my doctor fill out and sign their required form and submitted it. Only after reviewing the completed note did the company tell me, "Your doctor noted that your child is not critically ill, so your leave is now denied."

Because they denied it retroactively, they hit me with attendance "points" for the 20 days I missed while waiting on this paperwork.

I immediately tried to appeal for another leave options, but they denied it because it wasn't filed in advance. I then went directly to HR. I begged them to remove the points, give me a different leave option, or accommodate me with a shift change so I could keep working. They refused to give me any accommodation, said "sorry," and terminated me for hitting my maximum attendance points.

Can an employer legally do this in Canada? I feel like I was tricked and penalized for a family medical crisis. Do I have grounds to file a Human Rights complaint for discrimination based on Family Status?

Any advice on how to navigate this, file a complaint would be deeply appreciated. Thank you.

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i am looking for advice after being terminated by Amazon. I worked there for 3 years. I have a 2-year-old son, and I returned to my night-shift role 6 months ago after my maternity leave.

Recently, my son started suffering from severe health and behavioral issues (aggression, hitting his head against walls) because he was struggling with me being away at night. His doctor explicitly advised me to stay home with him for 1–2 months to see if he improved, and provided a doctor's note.

I immediately applied for a medical leave for child support. It took DLS (Disability and Leave Services) 2 weeks to approve it initially. Then, they demanded a second, more specific form from the doctor. When I went back to the doctor, she pointed out that the form Amazon required was for a "critically ill" dependent, which my son didn't technically qualify as under their strict definition. Amazon never told me this criteria beforehand.

Because of this paperwork loop, the process dragged on for a month. Amazon retroactively denied my leave, slapped me with attendance points for the time I missed, and terminated me. I tried talking to site HR, tried applying for a Personal Leave of Absence (PLOA) instead, and went through the formal Amazon appeal process, but they denied it and upheld the termination.

Has anyone dealt with DLS denying a child-care medical leave like this? Do I have any options left, or should I look into filing a complaint with the labor board/EEOC for wrongful termination? (I am based in Canada).