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Before the human rights tribunal the company argued that the offer was rescinded because of Haseeb’s dishonesty, not his lack of citizenship. The tribunal held that although Haseeb may have been dishonest, the discriminatory policy the company followed was enough to constitute a violation of Ontario’s Human Rights Code. What discriminatory policy is that, you may ask? The employer distinguished between candidates based on whether or not they were Canadian citizens. The tribunal ruled that this distinction was not a bona fide occupational requirement. Though it is legitimate not to hire someone because they lied, if the reason they lied was to avoid discriminatory treatment, the tribunal held, the lie is justified and the question illegal.

Under Ontario human rights law, successful applicants are put in the position they would have been in but for the discriminatory action. Haseeb successfully argued that he was entitled to be paid lost income for the four years — yes, four years — his case took to be heard and decided. On top of that, he was awarded $15,000 as compensation for injury to his dignity, feelings and self-respect.

In recent years, some in the employment law community have called for the tribunal to increase its awards for cases of egregious discriminatory behaviour against vulnerable workers. Decisions like the Haseeb case suggest these calls have been at least partially answered. In 2013, the tribunal awarded a supervisor $420,000, almost 10 years of back pay, against a school board that discriminated against her for her disability. In 2015, two temporary foreign workers who were severely mistreated and sexually harassed were awarded $200,000 in damages. In 2018, a retail worker was awarded $200,000 in damages for sexual harassment and solicitation by her employer. These are only a few examples, and there are sure to be many more to come.