Difference between revisions of "Protection Against Job Discrimination"

==What protection does BC law give?==

The BC Human Rights Code makes it illegal for employers to discriminate based on any of the following things, called “grounds”:

Discrimination includes decisions based on the fact that you are in one of the protected classes (for example, you weren’t hired because of your religion or gender). The ground does not need to be the only or main reason for the decision. It is discrimination if the ground is a factor in the decision.

The Code protects you in all aspects of employment, including if you are applying for a job, if you already have a job, or if you are denied a promotion in your current job. That means employers cannot use the grounds in the Code (or your involvement in an earlier complaint) to:

Employment agencies and unions can’t discriminate against you either. For example, a union can’t use any of the grounds in the Code to stop you from joining. And unions cannot discriminate in employment. But this would normally apply only if a collective agreement discriminated (the union negotiated a discriminatory term of employment) or the union impeded an employer’s efforts to accommodate.

But a potential employer or your current employer may be able to make job-related decisions (for example, to refuse to hire or promote you) even though it appears that the decision is discriminatory—if the employer can show that it based the decision on bona fide or legitimate occupational requirements. A bona fide occupational requirement is a legitimate job-related qualification where the employer cannot accommodate the protected characteristics without facing undue hardship. For example, a women’s health club could probably limit work cleaning a women’s locker room while women are present to a female cleaner, but if the job involved cleaning after hours, it probably could not limit it to females.

Yes. Employers cannot advertise a preference, specification, or limitation based on the grounds in the Code, unless it’s a bona fide occupational requirement. Job ads should describe the job and the necessary skills and training, not a certain type of person. Normally, everyone has the right to equal opportunity in the workplace—taking into account only the qualifications for the job, not the grounds in the Code.

Yes. Generally, employers must not pay a man more than a woman for similar, or substantially similar, work. The reverse of this is also true: employers must not pay a woman more than a man for similar or substantially similar work. Whether work is similar, or substantially similar, depends on many things, including the skill, effort, and responsibility a job requires. Employers can still pay different wages to different people based on seniority, merit, and productivity.

What about mandatory retirement?  

Typical examples of job discrimination include an employer:

You have to show that the employer’s conduct (or the conduct of another employee) had an adverse impact on you and that one of the grounds of discrimination was at least a factor in the adverse impact. If you show that, the employer has to prove their conduct was justified (a bona fide occupational requirement). Write down anything the employer says or does that may be discriminatory. Keep your written record—it may be useful evidence later on.

The Tribunal will review your complaint and if it determines that the complaint may be a violation of the Code, the Tribunal will ask the employer to reply to your complaint. The Tribunal can attempt to help you and the employer settle the complaint.  If that is not possible, the Tribunal may hold a hearing. If it decides your complaint is justified, the Tribunal can order the employer to stop discriminating and give you your job back, or give you the right to compete for a job. It can also order the employer to pay you money—called compensation—for lost income (including wages and disability and other benefits) and expenses. The Tribunal can also order the person or business that discriminated to pay you compensation for injury to your dignity, feelings, and self-respect. In most cases, these damages are under $10,000, but some damage awards have been much higher, over $30.000.

==Do you belong to a union?==