Workplace Discrimination in Ontario: Your Rights
It is illegal to treat you worse at work because of who you are. Here are the protected grounds, where discrimination shows up, and what you can claim.
Key takeaways
- The Human Rights Code makes it illegal to treat you worse at work because of a protected ground.
- Protected grounds include race, sex, disability, age, family and marital status, religion, and more.
- Discrimination can appear in hiring, pay, promotion, discipline, and firing, not just obvious insults.
- You can claim at the Human Rights Tribunal for lost wages and damages for injury to dignity.
- Discrimination tied to a firing can also be a wrongful dismissal, stacking the remedies.
In this article
Not every unfair thing at work is illegal, but treating someone worse because of who they are is. Ontario's Human Rights Code draws that line, and it protects employees from the first day of work, before it, and after it ends.
✅Quick answer. Ontario's Human Rights Code prohibits discrimination in employment based on protected grounds such as race, sex, disability, age, family status, and religion. If you are treated adversely because of one of these, you can bring a claim at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario for lost wages and damages for injury to dignity. When the discrimination is tied to a dismissal, it can also be a wrongful dismissal.
What is workplace discrimination?
Discrimination is being treated worse, or facing a rule or practice that disadvantages you, because of a protected characteristic. It does not have to be intentional or openly hostile. A policy that looks neutral but disproportionately harms people of a certain group, or a decision quietly influenced by a protected ground, can both count.
What are the protected grounds?
The Human Rights Code protects a list of grounds in employment, including:
- Race, ancestry, colour, ethnic origin, place of origin, and citizenship.
- Sex (including pregnancy), gender identity, and gender expression.
- Sexual orientation, marital status, and family status.
- Disability, including mental-health conditions.
- Age, creed (religion), and record of offences (in some cases).
Discrimination vs. harassment
The two overlap but are not identical. Discrimination is adverse treatment because of a protected ground. Harassment is a course of unwelcome comment or conduct, which becomes a human rights matter when it targets a protected ground. The same situation, like a manager making demeaning remarks about your religion and then passing you over for promotion, can involve both.
Where does discrimination show up?
Everywhere in the employment relationship: who gets hired, who gets paid what, who is promoted or trained, who is disciplined, who is accommodated, and who is let go. Some of the clearest cases involve a dismissal during a medical leave or around a pregnancy, where the timing points to a protected ground.
What can you claim for discrimination?
Through the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, you can seek compensation for lost wages and benefits caused by the discrimination, and damages for injury to your dignity, feelings, and self-respect. Where the discrimination is part of how your job ended, you may also have a severance claim, and the two can be pursued together.
What should you do?
- 1.Keep a record of what happened, including dates, people, and any witnesses.
- 2.Save emails, messages, and documents that show the treatment or the pattern.
- 3.Note any link between the treatment and a protected ground.
- 4.Get advice. A free review can tell you whether you have a human rights claim, a severance claim, or both.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as discrimination at work in Ontario?
Being treated worse, or disadvantaged by a rule or practice, because of a protected ground such as race, sex, disability, age, or family status. It does not have to be intentional or openly hostile.
What are the protected grounds under the Human Rights Code?
They include race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, marital and family status, and disability.
What is the difference between discrimination and harassment?
Discrimination is adverse treatment because of a protected ground. Harassment is a course of unwelcome comment or conduct, which becomes a human rights issue when it targets a protected ground. The same situation can involve both.
What can I claim if I was discriminated against at work?
Through the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, lost wages and benefits plus damages for injury to dignity. If the discrimination was tied to your dismissal, you may also have a severance claim.
Priya Sharma
Legal Writer, Mirza Law
Priya Sharma is a legal writer at Mirza Law in Toronto. She writes about wrongful dismissal, workplace rights, and what Ontario employees can do when they are treated unfairly.
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