5. Learn more about making a human rights claim
Question & Answer
I’m transgender or non-binary. What are my rights at work?If you think an employer has discriminated against you,you can apply to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. The Human Rights Legal Support Centre or a community legal clinic can also help you to make a claim to the .
The Tribunal can decide if an employer has discriminated against you. It is important to understand the steps in making a claim at the Tribunal.
You can also learn more about starting a claim in How to complete an Application form to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.
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 do things like:
- pay you money to make up for the
- give you the you need
- change its practices so they follow human rights laws
The Tribunal can also order the employer to pay you you lost because of the discrimination. Sometimes the Tribunal will order your employer to give you your job back, but this does not often.
You can ask for money to cover costs that you have or replace money that you were forced to spend because of what your employer did.
You can also ask for money because of how the employer’s actions affected you. When an employer doesn’t 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 the employer’s actions cost you money.
What to say in your application
In your , you say:
- what happened
- where things happened
- when things happened
- why you think the employer’s decision is against your human rights
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 must explain why you’re applying late. If you have a good reason, such as you were in the hospital, the Tribunal might, in rare cases, decide to let you apply late.
