Have you been discriminated against or harassed based on your race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, family status, genetic characteristics or disability? Or are you a company that is defending a complaint at the Ontario or Canadian Human Rights Tribunal? This area of law is constantly evolving, as are societal norms.
If you have been discriminated against, then you have a choice to file a claim in either a Human Rights Tribunal or in a court at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. There are pros and cons to each. At the tribunal, it can award more damages than a court in certain cases. If you were discriminated at the workplace, you should know that at the tribunal, you can claim damages for both discrimination as well as damages for severance pay (due to a poisoned workplace environment for instance). However, you must prove that you have been discriminated against if you file your claim at the tribunal. If you fail to do that, then you will not be entitled to any damages or severance pay. In a court, if your claim is based on discrimination at the workplace, and being laid off or unjustly terminated, you do not necessarily have to prove discrimination in order to get damages for severance.
Unlike in a court, the tribunal does not require the loser to play the winner’s legal fees. This may make filing your complaint at the tribunal less risky because if you lose, you do not have to pay the other side’s legal fees.
Most human rights cases in Ontario are filed at the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal. If your complaint is against a company that is federally regulated, such as aviation or transportation, then you file your complaint in the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal. In both tribunals, the parties are encouraged to participate in mediation prior to the trial.
Call or email for a free consultation to find out if you have a legal case, and if so, how much you may be entitled to. Contingency fee arrangements may be available in appropriate cases so that you do not have to worry about paying legal fees to your lawyer.