Human rights complaint dismissed; employer not liable for co-worker racial abuse unknown to management.
The complainant, an East Indian employee, alleged he was dismissed and subjected to discriminatory conditions of employment on the basis of race.
The employer had dismissed him following an alleged physical assault on a co-worker, a decision previously upheld in part by an arbitration board.
The Board of Inquiry held it was not bound by the arbitration award because the arbitrator did not consider the human rights issues.
However, the Board found no evidence that the dismissal was racially motivated, concluding it was based on a developing company policy against workplace violence.
While the complainant had suffered racial abuse from co-workers, the Board found the employer was not legally responsible as management was unaware of the abuse until the final incident, at which point they appropriately disciplined the offending co-worker.
The complaint was dismissed.
Singh v. Domglas Ltd., 1980 CanLII 3929
