Human Rights Tribunals across the country have been issuing
damage awards which have raised the eyebrows of the employer
community. In a number of recent cases, employees have been
awarded record setting damages. In many of these cases, these
damages have greatly exceeded what a Court would be prepared to
award in a wrongful dismissal cases.
The Traditional View
Human rights tribunals are empowered to award general damages
for human rights violations. These damages are intended to
compensate the victims of discrimination for the loss of dignity
and self-respect, and hurt feelings, caused by discriminatory
actions. These damages have historically usually ranged from
$500 to $15,000, with an unofficial high range established from
$25,000 to $40,000. When taking into account that costs
awards following a superior court trial can exceed these amounts,
counsel for employees have frequently complained that this range of
damages is not sufficient to deter
