BC Human Rights Tribunal
BC HR Tribunal awards $900 in costs against former employee who tried to resile from settlement agreement
In Edwards v. Schnitzer Steel Pacific, 2012 BCHRT 335, the BC Human Rights Tribunal:
- granted the employer's application to dismiss the former employee's human rights complaint under section 27(1)(d)(ii) of the BC Human Rights Code; and
- awarded the employer $900 in costs due to the fact that the former employee had tried to resile from a settlement agreement that he had previously entered into, with the assistance of his lawyer, with the employer.
Diana Juricevic appointed member of BC Human Rights Tribunal
Diana Juricevic was appointed on February 16, 2012 as a member of the BC Human Rights Tribunal. Her bio states:
Before joining the BC Human Rights Tribunal, Diana Juricevic was a Legal Officer in the
Defence Support Section for the United Nations Assistance to the Khmer Rouge Trials of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. She was also the Associate Director of the International Relations Program at the University of Toronto. Previously, she practised international criminal law before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and she was also the Acting Director of the International Human Rights Program at the University of Toronto¿s Faculty of Law where she taught courses on international criminal law and human rights advocacy. In 2007, Ms. Juricevic was named by the Women's Executive Network as one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada¿ and profiled in Chatelaine in 2008 as one of 80 Canadian Women to Watch. She holds her Bachelor of Arts (Honours), Bachelor of Laws, and her Master of Economics from the University of Toronto.
"B.C. Human Rights Tribunal Changes – Will They Be Enough?"
The Business Council of British Columbia has published an article entitled, "B.C. Human Rights Tribunal Changes – Will They Be Enough?" (September 2011) in its Human Capital Law and Policy publication.
The article was co-written by Thomas Roper, Q.C. and Jennifer Russell of the law firm Roper Greyell.
Among other issues, it addresses the "growing dissatisfaction within some segments of the employer community regarding the work of the [BC Human Rights] Tribunal" and the study undertaken last year by the British Columbia Law Institute, at the behest of the BC Ministry of Labour, of the merits of establishing a Workplace Tribunal for British Columbia that would adjudicate all employment related disputes.
No free-standing duty to treat employee “fairly and with due respect for dignity" during accommodation process
In Emergency Health Services Commission v. Cassidy, 2011 BCSC 100, the BC Supreme Court ruled that there was no free-standing procedural obligation on an employer to treat an employee “fairly, and with due respect for his dignity" during the duty to accommodate process, the failure of which could ground an award of damages.
The BC Human Rights Tribunal had previously ruled in this case that while accommodating the employee's physical disability would have represented an undue hardship to the employer, the employer was still liable for damages to the employee for failing to treat him fairly and with due respect for his dignity during the duty to accommodate process.
The damages awarded by the Tribunal included an award of $22,500 for injury to dignity, feelings and self-respect.
The Tribunal's decisions can be found here: read more »
Terminated employee ordered to pay UBC $5,000 in costs due to improper conduct during human rights proceeding
In Wells v. UBC and others (No. 5), 2011 BCHRT 176, an employee terminated by the University of British Columbia ("UBC") for benefits fraud was ordered by the BC Human Rights Tribunal to pay UBC $5,000 in costs as a result of her improper conduct during a human rights proceeding.
The order was made pursuant to section 37(4) of the BC Human Rights Code.
The improper conduct in question was misrepresentations she had made to the Tribunal regarding why she had delayed in filing her late complaint.
A story in The Province about this decision can be found here: "Fired worker must cover $5g in costs" (July 8, 2011).
BC Law Institute to research meaning of “Family Status” under BC Human Rights Code
The BC Law Institute has recently announced that it has commenced a project to research the meaning of “Family Status” under the BC Human Rights Code.
The Overview of the "BC Family Status Legal Research Project" found on the BCLI website states as follows: read more »
