The BC Human Rights Code protects employees from discrimination based on disability, age, race, sex, religion, family status and other protected characteristics. Employers can’t discriminate against workers in hiring, pay, promotions, working conditions or termination.

The law also requires employers to accommodate employees’ protected needs up to the point of undue hardship and protects people from retaliation for participating in human rights complaints.

If you’ve experienced discrimination at work in British Columbia, you may be entitled to compensation or other remedies under the Code.

💡 Know Your Rights: The BC Human Rights Code applies to provincially regulated workplaces regardless of company size. You don’t have to be a full-time employee to be protected, and discrimination doesn’t have to be intentional to violate the law.

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What Is the BC Human Rights Code?

The BC Human Rights Code is provincial legislation that protects people from discrimination in employment and other areas of public life.

Section 13 of the Code makes it illegal to refuse employment, terminate employment or discriminate against someone in their working conditions because of a protected characteristic.

These protections cover decisions involving:

  • Hiring and job applications
  • Pay, benefits and promotions
  • Job duties, schedules and working conditions
  • Disability accommodation and medical leave
  • Discipline, layoffs and termination

The Code is separate from BC’s Employment Standards Act. Employment standards establish minimum workplace entitlements, while human rights legislation protects employees from discrimination.

What Are the Protected Grounds Under the BC Human Rights Code?

Section 13 protects employees from discrimination based on the following characteristics:

  • Race, colour, ancestry and place of origin
  • Religion and political belief
  • Sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression
  • Age
  • Marital status and family status
  • Physical or mental disability
  • A criminal or summary conviction unrelated to the employment

Discrimination can occur when an employer treats an employee negatively because of one or more protected characteristics, even if discrimination wasn’t the employer’s intention.

Not every unfair workplace decision violates the Code. There must be a connection between the negative treatment and a protected characteristic.

What Counts as Workplace Discrimination in BC?

Workplace discrimination occurs when an employee experiences adverse treatment connected to a protected characteristic.

Examples include:

  • Firing an employee because they have a disability
  • Refusing to hire someone because of their age or race
  • Denying a promotion because an employee is pregnant
  • Penalizing an employee because of their religion
  • Refusing reasonable accommodation for disability-related restrictions
  • Subjecting a worker to racial or sexual harassment

Discrimination can be direct or result from workplace policies that unfairly disadvantage employees with protected characteristics.

For more information, read our guides to workplace discrimination and workplace harassment in BC.

What Are an Employer’s Responsibilities Under the BC Human Rights Code?

Employers must make employment decisions without unlawful discrimination and respond appropriately when protected employee rights are affected.

Their responsibilities include:

  • Preventing discrimination: Employment decisions must comply with the Code.
  • Addressing discriminatory harassment: Employers must take reasonable steps to address workplace harassment connected to protected grounds.
  • Providing accommodation: Employers must accommodate protected needs up to the point of undue hardship.
  • Protecting employees from retaliation: Workers can’t be punished for participating in a human rights complaint process.

Duty to Accommodate Employees

The BC Human Rights Code requires employers to accommodate employees whose protected characteristics affect their ability to meet workplace requirements.

Accommodation may include modified job duties, adjusted schedules, medical leave or other reasonable changes.

Employers aren’t required to provide every accommodation requested, but they must meet their legal obligations before claiming that accommodation would create undue hardship.

Learn more about the duty to accommodate in BC and undue hardship.

Can You Be Fired for Making a Human Rights Complaint in BC?

No. Section 43 of the BC Human Rights Code prohibits retaliation against people for participating, or potentially participating, in a complaint or proceeding under the Code.

Prohibited retaliation can include:

  • Firing or suspending an employee
  • Reducing their pay, hours or benefits
  • Threatening or intimidating them
  • Punishing them for giving evidence or assisting with a complaint

An employer can still terminate employment for legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons. However, a dismissal connected to a protected characteristic or human rights complaint can create additional legal consequences.

Employees who are dismissed may also have separate rights involving severance pay in BC, which includes as much as 24 months’ pay.

⚠️ Fired After Raising a Human Rights Concern? Don’t assume your employer can legally end your job without consequences. You may have human rights and wrongful dismissal claims. Before accepting severance or signing a release, get legal advice.

How Do You File a BC Human Rights Complaint?

Employees who believe they’ve experienced unlawful discrimination can file a complaint with the BC Human Rights Tribunal.

The process involves:

  1. Identify the discrimination. Explain what happened, when it occurred and which protected characteristic was involved.
  2. Gather evidence. Keep relevant emails, messages, medical documentation, employment records and other supporting information.
  3. Submit a complaint. File the required information with the BC Human Rights Tribunal.
  4. Participate in the process. The complaint may involve responses, mediation, preliminary decisions and, where necessary, a hearing.

What Is the Deadline for Filing a Human Rights Complaint in BC?

You usually have one year from the alleged discrimination to file a complaint with the BC Human Rights Tribunal.

Where related discriminatory conduct continues over time, the deadline may run from the last incident. The Tribunal can accept certain late complaints, but an extension isn’t guaranteed.

Read the Tribunal’s official complaint deadline guidance.

⚠️ Don’t Miss the Deadline: The one-year human rights complaint deadline is different from the deadline for many wrongful dismissal lawsuits. Getting legal advice or raising concerns internally doesn’t automatically extend the Tribunal’s filing deadline.

What Compensation Can You Receive for a Human Rights Violation in BC?

If the BC Human Rights Tribunal finds that an employer violated the Code, it can order remedies to address the discrimination.

These may include:

  • Lost wages and benefits: Compensation for employment income or benefits lost because of discrimination.
  • Injury to dignity: Compensation for harm to an employee’s dignity, feelings and self-respect.
  • Reinstatement: Returning an employee to their job in appropriate circumstances.
  • Reimbursement of expenses: Compensation for certain expenses caused by discrimination.
  • Corrective measures: Orders requiring an employer to stop discriminatory conduct or take steps to prevent it.

There is no fixed compensation amount for every human rights violation. The outcome depends on the discrimination, the harm caused and the evidence presented.

An employee who was wrongfully dismissed may also have separate employment law claims. Compensation for the same loss can’t simply be recovered twice.

BC Human Rights Code: Frequently Asked Questions

Does the BC Human Rights Code Protect Employees With Disabilities?

Yes. The Code protects employees with physical and mental disabilities. Employers must accommodate disability-related needs up to the point of undue hardship and can’t make discriminatory employment decisions because of a disability.

Does the BC Human Rights Code Protect Pregnant Employees?

Yes. Pregnancy-related discrimination is prohibited under the protection against sex discrimination. Employers can’t refuse to hire, discipline or dismiss an employee because of pregnancy.

Is Workplace Harassment a Human Rights Violation in BC?

Workplace harassment can violate the Code when it is connected to a protected characteristic, such as race, sex, religion or disability. Bullying that isn’t connected to a protected ground may raise different workplace legal issues.

Can You Sue Your Employer for Discrimination in BC?

Human rights discrimination complaints are usually handled by the BC Human Rights Tribunal, rather than through a standalone civil lawsuit for discrimination. However, dismissal or other workplace misconduct may also give rise to separate legal claims.

Does the BC Human Rights Code Apply to Small Businesses?

Yes. Provincially regulated employers must comply with the Code regardless of whether they have two employees or hundreds.

Does the BC Human Rights Code Apply to Federally Regulated Employees?

Federally regulated employees, including many workers in banking, telecommunications and interprovincial transportation, are covered by federal human rights legislation rather than the BC Human Rights Code for their employment.

Facing Discrimination or Wrongful Dismissal in BC?

The BC employment lawyers at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP help non-unionized employees dealing with workplace discrimination, disability accommodation disputes, retaliation and wrongful dismissal.

If your employer has refused to accommodate you, treated you unfairly because of a protected characteristic or terminated your employment, our team, including our human rights lawyers in Vancouver and for Victoria, can review your circumstances and explain your options.

Before you sign, always check first.

➡️ Get a Consultation or call 1-855-821-5900.

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