Tribunal dismisses preliminary objections, affirming jurisdiction over systemic sex discrimination claims involving compensation and job structure.
The applicant union filed a human rights application alleging systemic sex discrimination against casual Customer Service Representatives, who are predominantly female, regarding their wages and terms of employment.
The respondents raised preliminary issues, seeking dismissal for lack of timeliness, no reasonable prospect of success, and arguing that the Pay Equity Hearings Tribunal had exclusive jurisdiction over the compensation issues.
The Tribunal dismissed the preliminary objections, finding that the allegations constituted a series of incidents, that the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario has concurrent and broader jurisdiction over sex-based discrimination in compensation than the Pay Equity Hearings Tribunal, and that the union was not in a conflict of interest.
Ontario Public Service Employees Union v. Liquor Control Board of Ontario, 2015 HRTO 766