Worker Fired for Safety Violations—Not Being Gay or Disabled

After a worker was fired, he claimed discrimination based on disability and sexual orientation (he’s gay). The Human Rights Tribunal noted that although the worker claimed the company president “hated” homosexuals, there was no proof of that bias or that the bias led to his firing. In fact, given that the worker had been married twice and had dated a female co-worker, his employer thought he was heterosexual. There was also no evidence that the worker’s injury played any role in his termination. The company provided proof that it had fired him for committing safety violations, including one the day he was canned. Thus, the Tribunal dismissed the complaint [Cote v. Cantest Solutions Inc., [2012] B.C.H.R.T.D. No. 46, Feb. 29, 2012].