Frequently Asked Questions

Complaint Process Inquires

  1. How do I know if my complaint is accepted?

    The Human Rights Commission will review your Application Form and decide if we can accept your complaint. One of three things will happen:

    • Your application can be accepted as a complaint, or
    • We need more information to make a decision; or
    • Your Application Form cannot be accepted as a complaint. You will get written reasons for our decision. We may be able to help you self-advocate for yourself or refer you to other community or government services.  We may also help you find other ways to resolve your dispute.
  2. How does the Respondent learn about my complaint?

    The details of the allegations (with the exception of your personal contact information) will be sent to the person or business you are complaining about.

  3. What happens if the Respondent retaliates or treats me unfairly again after they get my complaint?

    Section 20 of the Human Rights Act protects you from retaliation if you’ve made a complaint, given evidence in a complaint or helped in respect of the initiation or furtherance of a complaint.

    This means that you’re protected once your complaint is accepted by the Commission, even if it hasn’t been officially sent to the person you’re complaining about. However, you will need to prove that the person who retaliated against you knew that the complaint was accepted.

    You can file another human rights complaint against the person or business who treated you unfairly.

  4. Can I withdraw my complaint once it is served on the Respondent?

    Yes, section 25(5) of the Human Rights Act allows a Complainant to withdraw the complaint at any time before the beginning of a hearing.

  5. What are the guidelines followed in order to refer a complaint to a hearing?

    Human Rights Commissioners shall refer a complaint to a hearing in the following circumstances:

    • The complaint has not been dismissed or deferred by the Executive Director of the Human Rights Commission;
    • There is sufficient evidence to proceed; and
    • The parties are unable to settle the complaint.

     

  6. Who is the complainant?

    The Complainant is the person who thinks they were discriminated against or harassed. You are the Complainant.

  7. Who is the respondent?

    The Respondent is the person/company/business/organization or association you are complaining about. You think the Respondent discriminated against or harassed you. There can be more than one Respondent.

Legal Definitions

  1. What is the duty to accommodate?

    Employers and service providers have an obligation to adjust rules, policies, and/or practices to enable you to fully participate. The duty to accommodate applies to personal needs that are related to the grounds of discrimination. The duty to accommodate means that sometimes it is necessary to treat someone differently in order to prevent or reduce discrimination. When we take the needs of an individual into consideration for them to function effectively in an environment, we are giving them equitable treatment.

    Examples of accommodations include:

    • Providing a special screen and software for people who are not fully sighted
    • Allowing an employee to take time off to attend a medical appointment
    • Managing an employee’s schedule in a way that balances their work and caregiving obligations
    • Making wheelchair access available to people with disabilities
  2. What are the prohibited grounds?

    The Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of personal characteristics. A person is either born with these personal characteristics or they acquire them later in life.  These characteristics are called prohibited grounds:

    Race: a socially constructed way of grouping people based on stereotypical physical or social characteristics.

    Colour: your skin colour.

    Nationality: you were born outside Canada and/or you are a citizen of a foreign country.

    Ethnic Origin: you share an origin or background, culture and tradition or language with a group of people.

    Religious creed: your religious or spiritual beliefs.

    Religion:  your belief in a particular faith or your genuinely held religious beliefs.  It can also mean that you do not have religious beliefs. Religion differs from religious creed in that religion refers to the particular system of faith or worship that a person adopts (eg. Islam, Christianity, Judaism).

    Age: stereotypes based on a person’s age of being too young or too old.

    Disability: The Human Rights Act defines disability as

    • a degree of physical disabilit
    • a condition of mental impairment or a developmental disabilit
    • a learning disability, or a dysfunction in one or more of the processes involved in understanding or using symbols or language, an
    • a mental disorder

    Perceived Disability: you have or have had a disability; are believed to have or have had a disability; or have or are believed to have a predisposition to developing a disability.

    Disfigurement: you have burns, scars or other disfiguring conditions that are visible, but that do not cause any functional limitations. It is not meant to cover piercing or tattooing, unless for religious or cultural reasons.

    Sex: your classification as male, female or intersex based on biological attributes, such as external genitalia, reproductive organs, chromosomes and hormones. Generally, individuals are assigned a sex at birth by a medical professional, often on the basis of their external genitalia. The prohibited ground of sex also includes those that are pregnant or breast-feeding.

    Sexual orientation: your physical, romantic and/or emotional attraction to another person.

    Gender identity:  your internal and individual experience of gender. It is their sense of being a woman, a man, both, neither, or anywhere along the gender spectrum.

    Gender expression: how you publicly present or express your gender. This can include behaviour and outward appearance such as dress, hair, make-up, body language and voice. A person’s chosen name and pronoun are also common ways of expressing gender.

    Marital status: your status of being single, engaged to be married, married, separated, divorced, widowed or in a common law relationship. The prohibited ground of marital status also protects you from discrimination because of the identity of the person you are in a relationship with.

    Family status: The Human Rights Act defines family status as the status of being in a parent and child relationship. A “child” includes a stepchild and an adopted child and “parent” includes a step-parent and an adoptive parent. The prohibited ground of family status protects you from discrimination if you have special child care or elder care responsibilities.

    Source of income: The Human Rights Act defines source of income as being in receipt of income or employment support under the Income and Employment Support Act.

    Political Opinion: your political belief or support of a political party. Also includes non-partisan or politically neutral beliefs.

    Conviction for an offence: you were discriminated against because of the conviction for an offence that is unrelated to your employment. The prohibited ground of conviction for an offence only applies when you are looking for a job or at work.

    Association with other individuals: because of your friendship, kinship or other relationship with an individual or a group of individuals identified by one of the prohibited grounds.

    Retaliation: you were discriminated or harassed because you previously filed a human rights complaint.

  3. What does the term “without prejudice” mean?

    During mediation, either party can make an offer or suggest an idea for settlement on a “without prejudice” basis. This means that the offer or idea cannot be used later in the investigation process if a complaint is not settled, unless the party making the offer wants it to become part of the file.

  4. What is discrimination?

    Discrimination means treating someone unfairly because of their personal characteristics.

    Section 9 of the Human Rights Act lists the personal characteristics that are protected in Newfoundland and Labrador. These personal characteristics are also called prohibited grounds.

    In law, discrimination is defined as a “distinction, whether intentional or not, which is related to certain personal characteristics and which imposes a burden, disadvantage or limits access to opportunities in some way”. Ontario (Human Rights Commission) and O’Malley v. Simpson-Sears, [1985] 2 S.C.R. 536 at p. 329

    You do not need to prove that a person intended to discriminate. Sometimes, it is the effect of the unfair treatment which is most important. If the effect of the unfair treatment is to impose on one person or group of persons, obligations, penalties, or restrictive conditions not imposed on other members of the community, it is discriminatory.

  5. What is harassment?

    Harassment is a form of discrimination. Harassment happens when a person experiences unwanted and offensive comments and/or conduct because of their personal characteristics.

    The Human Rights Act defines harassment as a “course of vexatious comment or conduct that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome”.

    Some examples of harassment include:

    1. You felt forced to quit your job because of a co-worker’s harassing comments and conduct. He inappropriately stared at you and made comments about your appearance. You tried to bring this to your manager’s attention, but nothing was done about it.
    2. our child is bullied at school because you are not from Newfoundland and Labrador. Your child is called racist names, was pushed in the hallway and told to “go home”. You complained to the teacher and the principal, but the school has not taken any action and the bullying has continued. Your child’s marks have suffered.
  6. What is undue hardship?

    What is the definition of undue hardship?

    An employer or service provider does not need to prove that it is impossible to accommodate a person just that it would result in undue hardship. Undue hardship is meant to be hard though; and does require significant difficulty or expense. What undue hardship means is different in each circumstance.

    How do you know if you’ve met the undue hardship requirement?

    Each case is decided on its own facts, but meeting the “undue hardship” test may include a consideration of the following:

    • Financial cost
    • Safety
    • Size of the organization
    • Collective Agreement
    • Interchangeability of work force and facilities
    • Morale of other employers

Procedural Questions

  1. How do I know if my complaint is accepted?

    The Human Rights Commission will review your Application Form and decide if we can accept your complaint. One of three things will happen:

    • Your application can be accepted as a complaint, or
    • We need more information to make a decision; or
    • Your Application Form cannot be accepted as a complaint. You will get written reasons for our decision. We may be able to help you self-advocate for yourself or refer you to other community or government services.  We may also help you find other ways to resolve your dispute.
  2. What happens if the Respondent retaliates or treats me unfairly again after they get my complaint?

    Section 20 of the Human Rights Act protects you from retaliation if you’ve made a complaint, given evidence in a complaint or helped in respect of the initiation or furtherance of a complaint.

    This means that you’re protected once your complaint is accepted by the Commission, even if it hasn’t been officially sent to the person you’re complaining about. However, you will need to prove that the person who retaliated against you knew that the complaint was accepted.

    You can file another human rights complaint against the person or business who treated you unfairly.

  3. Does the Human Rights Commission represent me?

    No, the Human Rights Commission deals with complaints in a way that is independent, unbiased and neutral. The Commission does not represent the Complainant or the Respondent.

  4. What happens if I fail to participate in the human rights process?

    You have certain responsibilities as a Complainant. If you fail to participate in the complaint process, we will assume you no longer want to continue. Your complaint may be considered withdrawn and the file closed.

  5. What are my responsibilities in the human rights complaint process?

     This is your human rights complaint. It is your responsibility to work with the Human Rights Commission to resolve your complaint. You must:

    • Consider ways to resolve your complaint;
    • Inform the Commission of any changes to your address, phone number or email address;
    • Respond to the Commission in a timely way; and
    • Give any relevant documents or information to the Commission.

The Human Rights Commissioners

  1. What do Human Rights Commissioners do?

    Human Rights Commissioners promote an understanding of, acceptance of and compliance with the Human Rights Act. They also attend regular meetings and make decisions about complaints, special programs and the strategic direction of the Human Rights Commission.

    They act more like a volunteer board of directors and do not work in the Human Rights Commission’s office.

     

  2. Who are Human Rights Commissioners?

    Commissioners have experience and an interest in and sensitivity to human rights.   They know about the concerns of vulnerable or marginalized groups, public policy, social values, and concepts of fairness, justice and public service.

    The Lieutenant-Governor in Council appoints Commissioners for a 5 year term. One member is designated as Chair.

  3. What is the role of the Commissioners when reviewing complaints?

    Human Rights Commissioners review complaints after an investigation is complete. The Commissioners decide if there is “sufficient evidence” to send a complaint to a hearing.  It is a screening function only.

    Human Rights Commissioners do not make findings of discrimination or harassment. That is the job of an Adjudicator at a human rights hearing.

     

  4. What does “sufficient evidence” mean?

    Human Rights Commissioners first review all the available evidence.  They use their experience, common sense and knowledge of human rights to decide if there is “sufficient evidence” to send a complaint to a hearing.

    A complaint can be dismissed if there is not enough evidence to support the allegations or there is a non-discriminatory reason for the Respondent’s conduct.

     

  5. What can the Human Rights Commissioners decide to do?

    The Commissioners can either decide to:

    • dismiss the complaint if there is not enough evidence to support the allegations OR
    • refer the complaint to commission-directed mediation and/or to a human rights hearing
  6. How long will it take for the Human Rights Commissioners to make a decision?

    Human Rights Commissioners meet and review complaints 4-5 times a years. If there is an urgent matter, they can hold meetings by conference call to speed up complaints.

  7. How will I know what the Human Rights Commissioners decided?

    The Human Rights Commission will send a letter explaining the Commissioner’s decision.

  8. What do I do if I disagree with the Commissioners decision to dismiss a complaint?

    If a complaint is dismissed, a Complainant can seek judicial review of the decision in the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, General Division.