discriminatory termination of employment

In Luckman v. Bell Canada, 2022 CHRT 18, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (“CHRT“) ordered the employer, Bell Canada (“Bell“) to pay more than $120,000 in monetary compensation to a former employee in connection with his discriminatory termination of employment. Among other things, CHRT held that the employer discriminated against him in deciding to terminate his employment, which violates section 7 of the Canadian Human Rights Act, RSC 1985 c H-6(the “CHRA). In doing so, it awarded him compensation of $91,052.40 for lost wages, as well as $15,000 in damages for pain and suffering, and $15,000 in damages for engaging in a discriminatory practice willfully or recklessly. The main reason?

The CHRT found that the employee’s illness was a factor in Bell’s decision to terminate his employment, which meant it was not only a wrongful dismissal but also discrimination.

Facts

In this case, the employee had only worked for Bell for approximately 1.5 years. He began working for Bell Canada in May of 2016 as a Business Development Manager. At that time, he was the primary caretaker for his father. However, he began experiencing health issues, and was subsequently diagnosed with cancer.

In January 2017, Bell made some workplace changes transferred the employee to a new team where he reported to a new manager.

Initially, the employee took 5 days of bereavement leave after his father’s death. He subsequently went on medical leave at the beginning of May 2017 to undergo surgery for his cancer. He attempted to return to work in October 2017, but his return to work was unsuccessful as he became overwhelmed with his workload, and had to go back on a medical leave.

In November 2017, he returned to work for a second time, only to be terminated the following month. It then took him nearly another near to start a new job.

However, Bell did not provide any evidence as to what criteria were to be used by managers when selecting employees for termination related to a business restructuring.

In defence, Bell denied that the employee’s family status, disability and need for accommodation were factors in her selection of him for termination. However, the CHRT held that Bell did not provide any evidence that his poor performance was the reason he was selected for termination (which would have been a valid non-discriminatory reason). Similarly, it also rejected Bell’s claim that the employee was “predestined” for selection for termination at the next Bell restructuring regardless of his performance or any disability, specifically because he was the weakest member and thus vulnerable to termination when the next restructuring came around.

Further, the CHRT found that Bell consciously or unconsciously considered the employee’s physical and mental impairment at all in its decision to select him for termination. Specifically, the CHRT found that his medical condition was a consideration for Bell when it assessed his continued usefulness as a team member and was a factor in the decision to select him for termination. Put simply, the employee’s disability was a factor in his termination, and thus Bell made a discriminatory termination of employment, which was a violation of section 7 of the Act.

Award for Discriminatory Termination of Employment

Lost Wages

While the CHRT rejected the employee’s claim that his termination was discriminatory based on his family status because since 8 months had passed after his family circumstances arose, it found that since the employee’s termination was based, in part, on discrimination based on his disability. As such, he was entitled to lost wages until the time he found a new job 11 months later, in November 2018, which amounted to $91,052.40 (i.e., wages he would have received but for his discriminatory termination).

Pain and Suffering

The employee was awarded $15,000 in damages for pain and suffering, since:

“Bell’s conduct was a serious transgression of the Act. They terminated an employee who was still recovering from cancer surgery. They made no inquiries as to whether his disability continued to affect his ability to work. In addition to the physical suffering and stress from his cancer recovery, Mr. Luckman was forced to endure the humiliation of being fired and being forced to find a new job on top of all his problems.”

Reckless Conduct

The employee was also awarded $15,000 in damages because its decision to terminate his employment for a discriminatory reason “was reckless rather than wilful in selecting him for termination while he was suffering from a disability.” Specifically, the CHRA found that:

“Despite Bell’s sophisticated human resources processes and policies, it does not appear to me that anyone considered whether firing an employee recovering from cancer surgery might be discriminatory. Ms. Galvis (Bell Human Resources) testified that she simply checked her database to see that Mr. Luckman had returned without medical restrictions. Ms. D’Ambrosio (Mr. Luckman’s manager) was aware of Mr. Luckman’s medical limitations but never raised it to anyone at Bell during the termination process.

Ms. D’Ambrosio’s single-minded pursuit of maintaining her team’s sales and customer focus left no doubt in her mind that Mr. Luckman with his medical limitations was a liability to her goals.”

In making its decision, the CHRA relied on a cases where employers fired employees without making a serious effort to accommodate, failed to make basic inquiries before termination on performance grounds, and who showed willful ignorance of an employee’s disability by failing to reasonably investigate disability when presented with a doctor’s note and denied the disability existed.

Employment Lawyer in Toronto

In Ontario employment law, it is important for employees to consult with a wrongful dismissal lawyer as soon as they are told by an employer that their employment will be terminated. If you are an employee who believes you have been wrongfully dismissed and the decision to terminate was related to a discriminatory reason, please speak with our experienced wrongful dismissal lawyer in Toronto regarding your options, including negotiating your severance package to obtain the severance compensation you deserve, as well as wrongful dismissal claim.

Contact us by phone 647-822-5492 or fill out the contact form to the side. Our employment lawyer in Toronto would be happy to assist in your employment law matter as quickly as possible.

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