Worker lived in Nova Scotia; employer based in Ontario
The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has dismissed a worker’s application alleging employment discrimination on the grounds of sex because the matter isn’t sufficiently connected to the province of Ontario to give it jurisdiction.
Teccweb is a corporation located in Waterloo, Ont., that provides enterprise resource planning (ERP) software system implementation services across Canada and the US. The worker lived in Nova Scotia and she reported to a supervisor who lived in the US. She worked remotely from Nova Scotia for about one month – her entire period of employment with Teccweb.
According to the worker, her male supervisor made “chauvinistic” and “derogatory” comments during a telephone meeting. He had previously told her that she was a “sensitive thin skinned female” and she was a bad hire because of her “fragile female histrionics.”
The worker complained about her supervisor’s comments to Teccweb and the company terminated her employment hours later. She filed a human rights application alleging discrimination on the basis of sex, including pregnancy, and reprisal in the area of employment.
Tribunal’s jurisdiction
Teccweb requested a dismissal of the worker’s application, arguing that the allegations didn’t have a sufficient connection to Ontario and the tribunal didn’t have jurisdiction in the matter. The tribunal issued a Request for Additional Submissions (RAS) to the worker regarding her application’s connection to Ontario, but she didn’t directly address the tribunal’s jurisdictional concerns.
The tribunal, relying on Rule 13.1 of its Rules of Procedure, reaffirmed that it may dismiss applications that fall outside its jurisdiction. The tribunal noted that, as a provincial adjudicative body, it can’t make orders extra-territorially and must determine whether an applicant's employment has a sufficient connection to Ontario.
The tribunal considered factors such as Teccweb’s location, the worker’s residence and usual place of work in Nova Soctia, and whether the terms of employment required the worker to work in Ontario. While the company operated in both Canada and the US, the worker resided and worked remotely in Nova Scotia throughout her one-month term of employment. Her supervisor, who allegedly made the discriminatory comments, was based in the US. In addition, the worker didn’t claim to have worked in Ontario at any time, the tribunal said.
Teccweb maintained that the worker’s employment contract was governed by Nova Scotia labour laws, which the worker didn’t initially dispute as that was where her work was carried out. However, she later informed the tribunal’s registrar that the Ontario Labour Relations Board had initially ruled in her favour before reversing its decision, allegedly after Teccweb argued that she needed to sue its sister company in Montreal or possibly a related US company that paid the supervisor.
Insufficient connection to Ontario
The applicant further argued that Teccweb was an Ontario corporation with an address and phone number in the province, and that she had completed Ontario tax forms at the start of her employment.
However, the tribunal determined that the only connection to Ontario was the location of Teccweb’s head office, which was insufficient to establish jurisdiction.
“While it is clear the [worker] is frustrated by the complex nature of [Teccweb’s] business structure and how difficult it has been for her to resolve any labour or human rights issues stemming from her employment with [Teccweb], the tribunal cannot proceed with the application if her employment lacks a sufficient connection to Ontario,” said the tribunal in dismissing the worker’s application.
