In Francis v. Ministry of Justice, the Human Rights Tribunal awarded $964,197.24 to a complainant, LF. This award included $176,000 for injury to dignity, which is the highest ever award for this category in BC. This decision serves as a reminder that workplace discrimination poses a significant and increasing financial risk to employers.
The Discrimination
In a previous decision, the Tribunal found that LF, who was a corrections officer, had been discriminated against nine times. When he complained, his supervisors retaliated against him with additional discrimination.
LF was stereotyped by supervisors and officers as being “slow” and “lazy”. A supervisor referred to him as a “lazy Black man”. Another supervisor disparaged him by attributing poor performance to his race before an audience of inmates and officers. LF also heard other officers being called racial slurs. LF reported many such incidents over the years, however, the complaints were not addressed by his supervisors. Instead, LF was accused of “playing the race card” to manipulate his co-workers.
After LF filed a human rights complaint, his supervisors retaliated against him. One supervisor ordered LF to breach protocol, then immediately reprimanded him for doing so. He was further targeted by his co-workers and regularly experienced the use of racial slurs in the workplace.
In sum, it was determined that the Employer had engaged in discriminatory conduct and permitted a poisoned work environment.
The Adverse Impact
The impact of the ongoing discrimination on LF’s mental health came to light when he experienced a traumatic experience in the workplace, which resulted in the end of his employment.
At the hearing of the complaint, LF’s wife described him previously as “happy and charismatic”, “athletic” with “lots of friends” – someone who had “empathy”, “spunk”, and “drive”. After suffering the discrimination and leaving his job, LF lost interest in sports and socializing. He developed poor hygiene and a probable Alcohol Use Disorder. A psychiatrist diagnosed him with Major Depressive Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and Obstructive Sleep Apnea. The doctor further mentioned that LF was “seriously ill from a psychiatric point of view”. The medical evidence supported a finding that LF would never be capable of holding down a job again.
Ultimately, the Tribunal determined the discriminatory conduct and poisoned work environment had caused LF serious mental illness which left him unable to return to work in any capacity.
Damage Award
As a remedy, the Tribunal awarded LF $964,000 in damages, including wage loss, loss of future earnings, and injury to dignity damages.
The injury to dignity award of $176,000 is the highest-ever award of its kind in British Columbia. This was award was $101,000 more than any other award for injury to dignity in the Tribunal’s history.
The previous highest award for injury to dignity in B.C. was $75,000, in a case involving complex multi-year discrimination against a medical resident that led to a delay in licensing. The Tribunal distinguished that case as the facts were less egregious. Turning to other provinces, the Tribunal considered a $125,000 award for injury to dignity in Alberta, and an award for $200,000 in Ontario. In the Alberta case, the discrimination was serious, but the employee was expected to recover. In the Ontario case, the acts of discrimination were even worse, involving repeated acts of sexual assault, but the impact of that discrimination on the employee was less severe.
Following these higher awards, the Tribunal awarded $176,000 to LF as injury to dignity damages.
