Browning v. Northend Body Shop Ltd., 2017 HRTO 1001
The HRLSC represented Natalie Browning, a high school student who was excited about her co-op placement at an auto body shop. Her teacher had recommended the business because two other students had done their co-op placements there.
At the hearing, Browning testified the owner “asked her if she really wanted to get her hands dirty because his shop was dirty. She told him she did. She testified she does not think a male candidate would have been asked such questions.” The owner knew she was there to get hands-on work experience with cars, yet he first offered her filing work and then told her she could answer phones. When she declined, the interview was over.
The brief interview left Browning shaken. She testified that “she was upset, shaken up, caught off guard and embarrassed. She had been excited about the co-op, but then decided not to pursue this trade.”
The Tribunal ordered:
- financial compensation of $7,000 for the discrimination; and
- the owner to take the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s on-line training “Human Rights 101.”
To read the full decision, visit Canlii