Employees in British Columbia are protected from discrimination based on certain grounds prohibited by human rights laws. Prohibited grounds of discrimination include age, sex, family status, and disability. This is not an exclusive list of prohibited grounds.
Discrimination means treatment that is different from other persons. Discrimination prohibited by human rights law is discrimination which occurs because of the worker’s membership in a protected group. If unlawful discrimination occurs, the employee would be able to pursue a variety of remedies under the relevant legislation. These complaints are normally advanced to the BC Human Rights Tribunal or the Canadian Human Rights Commission (as applicable). Importantly, in some cases, violations of a worker’s fundamental human rights may give rise to a civil cause of action for wrongful dismissal, constructive dismissal, and in certain events aggravated and/or punitive damages.