Wrongful Dismissal
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Workplace discrimination and human rights lawyer.
You have the right to a workplace free from discrimination and harassment. If you've been treated unfairly, bullied, harassed, or punished for asserting your rights, we can help you understand your options under the Ontario Human Rights Code and pursue them.
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Human Rights at Work in Ontario
What the Human Rights Code protects
The Ontario Human Rights Code prohibits discrimination and harassment in employment on the basis of protected grounds, such as age, race, colour, religion, sexual orientation, and sex, and disability.
What discrimination can look like
- Being fired, demoted, passed over, or disciplined because of a protected ground
- Harassment or a "poisoned" work environment based on who you are
- An employer's failure to accommodate a disability, religious practice, or family-status need
- Reprisal: being punished for raising a complaint or asserting your rights under the Ontario Human Rights Code
The duty to accommodate
Employers have a legal duty to accommodate needs connected to a protected ground, such as disability or family status, up to the point of undue hardship. That can mean modified duties, adjusted schedules, leaves, or other reasonable changes. An employer who refuses to genuinely explore accommodation, may be violating the Ontario Human Rights Code.
Human rights issues frequently overlap with a dismissal. If you were let go in circumstances connected to a protected ground, you may have both a wrongful dismissal claim and a human rights claim, and human rights damages can be pursued alongside your severance. It's worth having the full picture assessed.
Your options and time limits
Depending on the situation, a human rights application can be brought before the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (the "Tribunal"), or human rights damages can be pursued as part of a civil claim, such as for wrongful dismissal. Remedies can include compensation for injury to your dignity, feelings, and self-respect; lost wages, and other orders. Time limits are strict: generally, a human rights application must be filed within 1 year of the event, so it's important to act promptly.
How Pelsmakher Law can help
- Assess whether what happened engages the Ontario Human Rights Code
- Advise on the best forum: the Tribunal, a civil claim, or both
- Help you document and preserve evidence
- Pursue compensation and other remedies on your behalf
Discrimination & Human Rights FAQs
Common questions about workplace human rights.
Practical, Canadian-law guidance for employees navigating a dismissal, in Toronto and across Ontario and Canada.
The Ontario Human Rights Code prohibits being treated unfairly in employment because of a protected ground, such as race, sex, age, disability, religion, family status, and others. It can include being fired, demoted, being bullied or harassed, being exposed to a poisoned work environment, or a failure to accommodate a disability. Discrimination doesn't have to be intentional to be unlawful.
Employers must accommodate certain employee workplace needs, such as regarding a disability or family matter, up to the point of undue hardship. Refusing to genuinely explore reasonable accommodation, or dismissing someone rather than accommodating them, can violate the Ontario Human Rights Code.
Generally, an application to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario must be filed within 1 year of the incident (or the last in a series of incidents). Because the window is short and strict, it's important to get advice quickly.
Yes, where a dismissal is connected to a protected ground under the Ontario Human Rights Code, you may be able to pursue human rights damages alongside your wrongful dismissal claim. Which forum makes the most sense depends on your situation.
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