Discrimination at Workplace

Harassment Case Study- 4 the Non-Engineer

Name
Teacher
Course
Date
College

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Table of Contents
i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
v)

Introduction..3
Is this legislative harassment?................................3
How to Investigate?.........................................4
Recommendations.5
References.6

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Introduction:

Bill has been facing discrimination at his workplace for a long time. Bill has been denied
promotions, pay raises and trainings on the basis of him being a non engineer working in an
engineering project; because he is not an engineer like the rest of the staff. Bill has been
continuously graded as an outcast and was regarded as an aberration by the boss. Bill has a
science degree and 12 years experience in project management and he is a Fellow of the
International Project Management Association owing to his hard work on the Board of Directors
for a lot of years.
Is This Legislative Harassment?

The discrimination is legislative in nature as the Canadian Human Rights Act prohibits
refusing to employ or continue to employ someone, or treating them unfairly in the workplace.
(Calgaryworkers.org, 2015) The dignity of their employees ought to be respected by the
employers and the employers should make certain that their workplaces and actions are free of
harmful discrimination. Human rights law across Canada prohibits employers from
discriminating against individuals in the terms and conditions of employment, hiring, firing,
owing to a few personal traits; until and unless they are specifically needed for a job.
(Calgaryworkers.org, 2015) The Alberta Human Rights Act disallows discrimination in the

field of employment and applications of employment. It is the duty of the employers to put up
with undue hardship to fulfill the needs of their workers. (Alberta, 2015)
Harassing behavior are of extensive nature from severe to less severe levels, nevertheless
one-off episodes can still make up harassment. Furthermore, if carried on for a long time,
behavior like these can destabilize the standard of performance in a work area, which may

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further grind down the interests of the targeted individual and direct to lower staff performance
in general.
The deficiency of complaints is not essentially a signal that no discrimination harassment
or is taking place. The person subjected to discriminating behavior or harassing does not
constantly protest. This is not essentially as the act is inconsequential, nevertheless since the
person is lacking the self-assurance to protest on their personal behalf or feel too demoralized or
even discomfited to protest.
Furthermore, Canadian human rights laws people are defended against discrimination on
the basis of aspects that may or may not be related to legitimate needs of the job or personal
merits. (Chrc-ccdp.ca, 2013) Bills case comes under workplace discrimination which can occur
in:

selecting and recruiting staff

terms and conditions and benefits given are a part of employment

the type of training being offered and who is receive training

who is judged and selected for promotion, transfer, cutback or removal from office

Under the human rights act several working conditions are protected from discrimination
while people are working somewhere. These include wages, training, discipline, benefits and
benefit plans, dress codes, promotions, suspension, and seniority. On the same lines Bill is also
protected against discrimination against all these by the employers. He has been denied further

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trainings and several benefits including the pay rise that he deserved only because he was not an
engineer. This is legislative discrimination.
What Would You Do To Investigate?

To investigate the HR should be contacted in order to check Bills personal records, his
accomplishments and education should be kept in mind while doing this. The records for training
and pay raise over the years should also be investigated. Independent observance of the office
environment can be carried out and department colleagues can be interviewed as well. If enough
evidence is gathered by all this a case can be put up after consulting the appropriate human rights
commission and by hiring a lawyer.
Recommendations:

The court of law can penalize the boss and the employer / organization. However,
the penalties do not necessarily reflect

the seriousness of such conduct. In

classic

discrimination case, the injured party is expected to be awarded a specific amount as

compensation for missing wages; the constant non raise of the pay can also be compensated. This
can

be

topped

up

by

compensation

for

general damages for damage to

dignity. The later are expected to be anywhere in the range of $15,000 to $20,000, nevertheless
the financial amount has augmented somewhat, recently. Bill needs to be compensated for the
lost training opportunities, lost wages, demoralization, and above all for mental stress and
anxiety.

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References
Alberta, G. (2015). Alberta Human Rights: Protected areas and grounds under the
Alberta Human Rights Act. Albertahumanrights.ab.ca. Retrieved 16 April 2015,
from
http://www.albertahumanrights.ab.ca/publications/bulletins_sheets_booklets/sheet
s/history_and_info/protected_areas_grounds.asp
Calgaryworkers.org,. (2015). Calgary Workers' Resource Centre | Human rights.
Retrieved 16 April 2015, from http://www.calgaryworkers.org/?page_id=307
Chrc-ccdp.ca,. (2013). What is discrimination? | Canadian Human Rights
Commission. Retrieved 16 April 2015, from http://www.chrcccdp.ca/eng/content/what-discrimination
Humanrights.gov.au,. (2015). What is workplace discrimination and harassment? |
Australian Human Rights Commission. Retrieved 16 April 2015, from
https://www.humanrights.gov.au/what-workplace-discrimination-and-harassment