5. Learn more about making a human rights claim
Use this tool to compare your legal options if you've been discriminated against.
Question & Answer
Can my employer tell me what to wear at work?If you think an employer has discriminated against you, you can apply to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.
It's important to understand the steps in making a claim at the Tribunal.
You can also learn more about starting a claim in Completing and Filing an HRTO Application.
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 because of the
- give you the you need
- change its practices so they follow human rights laws
The Tribunal can also order an employer to give you your job back. But they do not usually do this.
Ask the Tribunal for money
When the Tribunal orders an employer to pay you money, they call this damages or monetary compensation. The Tribunal can order an employer to pay you because what they did:
- cost you money, or
- harmed you in some way.
The 2 types of damages you can get at the Tribunal are:
- special damages
- general damages
Special damages
The Tribunal can order the employer to pay you because the discrimination or harassment cost you money.
Special damages are meant to cover:
- something you had to pay for, like counselling, or
- money you did not get, for example, you made less money and lost health benefits because your employer fired you.
General damages
The Tribunal can order the employer to pay you because the discrimination affected your physical or emotional health.
To get general damages, you do not have to show that what the employer did cost you money. But you must explain how the discrimination hurt you.
For example, the discrimination may have:
- affected your self-esteem
- caused you to be depressed
- humiliated you
Instead of general damages, the Tribunal sometimes calls it “monetary compensation for injury to dignity, feelings and self-respect”.
What to say in your application
In your application, say:
- what happened
- where it happened
- when it happened
- why you think what your employer did is against your human rights
- how the things that happened are related to your religion, , or other
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 late.
You must have a good reason for being late and have proof of the reason. For example, you were in the hospital and have hospital records to show that you could not apply before the deadline.
The Tribunal might let you apply late if they think your reason is good enough. But they rarely do this.
