3. Learn more about making a human rights claim

If you think an employer has discriminated against you, you can apply to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.

The can decide if an employer has discriminated against you for a reason that goes against your human rights. You start the process by making an application to the Tribunal.

What the Tribunal can do

If the Tribunal decides that the employer discriminated against you, there are things the Tribunal can order the employer to do.

For example, the Tribunal can order the employer to:

  • pay you money
  • give you your job back
  • change its practices so they follow human rights laws

But they rarely order an employer to give you back your job.

You can ask for money to cover costs that you had or to replace money that you were forced to spend because of what the employer did.

You can also ask for money because of how the employer’s actions affected you. When an employer does not respect your human rights, this can hurt you. The Tribunal can order the employer to pay you money for the hurt they caused you. You don’t have to show that their actions cost you money.

What to say in your application

In your , you say:

  • what happened
  • why you think what the employer did goes against your human rights

For example, an employer’s decision might be against human rights laws if you’ve had problems with drugs or alcohol and they:

  • ask you to take a drug or alcohol test
  • punish or fire you for refusing to take a drug or alcohol test
  • punish or fire you because of the results of a drug or alcohol test

Time limits

The deadline to apply to the Tribunal is one year from the date you were discriminated against.

If you miss the deadline, you can still apply. But in your application, you need to explain why you’re applying late. If you have a good reason, for example, you couldn’t apply because you were in the hospital, the Tribunal can decide to let you apply late.

Learn more about applying to the Tribunal in How to complete an Application form to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.

Hide this website