Human Rights Tribunal Sanctions Employee For Withdrawing Human Rights Complaint At Last Second

Human rights applications can be frustrating for employers. As even frivolous cases must usually go to a hearing in order to be dismissed, employers are forced to incur substantial costs. Employees, on the other hand, are often able to obtain free legal advice along the way. Plus, the Human Rights Tribunal ("Tribunal") does not award costs. Accordingly, unlike the Courts, the system is designed so that there are few consequences for an employee advancing a claim and then, perhaps because the claim had no merit all along, withdrawing the claim. Fortunately, a recent decision from the Tribunal found that an employee who tried to withdraw her claim at the last second could not do so without adverse consequences.