Excluding women of child-bearing potential from a toxic workplace constitutes unlawful sex discrimination.
The complainant alleged sex discrimination after being excluded from working in the Inco Pressure Carbonyl (IPC) processing area due to a company policy barring women of child-bearing potential.
The employer argued the policy was necessary to protect fetuses from potential exposure to nickel carbonyl gas.
The Board of Inquiry held that discrimination based on child-bearing potential constitutes sex discrimination.
The Board further found that the exclusionary policy was not a reasonable and bona fide occupational qualification, as the risk to a fetus was minimal and the policy was over-inclusive.
The employer was ordered to train and place the complainant in the IPC area and to abandon the exclusionary policy.
Wiens v. Inco Metals Co., 1988 CanLII 8869
