George v 1735475 Ontario Limited, 2017 HRTO 761
The HRLSC represented Nathan George in his human rights application against his employer Stan Seto. The Tribunal found that Seto’s comments to George were “egregious” and that George was subjected to “persistent and repeated” racist comments, including calling him a “worthless n—er.”
The Tribunal found:
- “it is not the proper role or function of this Tribunal to police workplace conversations about current events, even on difficult topics like the Ferguson shooting or subsequent rioting. Having said that, the comments I have found were made by Mr. Seto were discriminatory when he referred to ‘you people’ and ‘your race,’ meaning people of the same race as the applicant, being ‘stupid.’
- that Mr. Seto personally experienced discrimination in the construction industry, commenting, “While that may reflect Mr. Seto’s own personal approach to being subjected to racial comments [letting it go like water off a duck’s back], it does not reflect the law of this province and is not consistent with Mr. Seto’s responsibilities as an employer.”
The Tribunal ordered:
- financial compensation of $20,000 for the discrimination
To read the full decision, visit Canlii