Workplace discrimination is illegal in Ontario when a protected personal characteristic is a factor in how you’re treated at work.

That includes decisions involving hiring, pay, promotions, discipline, accommodation, layoffs and termination. Protected characteristics include disability, race, sex, age, family status, religion, sexual orientation and others covered by the Ontario Human Rights Code.

Unfair treatment is not automatically discrimination. There must be a connection between the negative treatment and a protected characteristic. But that characteristic does not have to be the only reason—or even the main reason—for the decision.

⚠️ Think discrimination is forcing you out of your job? Don’t resign before getting legal advice. Serious discrimination or a failure to accommodate can also lead to constructive dismissal and severance rights.

On This Page:

What Is Workplace Discrimination in Ontario?

Workplace discrimination happens when an employee experiences negative treatment or disadvantage because of a characteristic protected by Ontario’s Human Rights Code.

The simplest way to think about it is:

  • You have a protected characteristic;
  • You experience negative treatment or disadvantage at work; and
  • The protected characteristic was a factor in that treatment.

Discrimination does not need to be intentional. A manager does not have to openly say, “I’m doing this because of your age,” disability, race or another protected characteristic.

It can also happen when a workplace rule appears neutral but unfairly disadvantages employees because of a protected need.

💡 The rule to remember: A protected characteristic doesn’t have to be the only reason you were treated negatively. If it was a factor in the decision, there can be a human rights issue.

Is unfair treatment at work discrimination?

Not automatically.

Your employer can make decisions you disagree with. It can criticize legitimate performance problems, choose another qualified employee for a promotion, change business priorities or discipline actual misconduct.

Those decisions become human rights issues when a protected characteristic influences the treatment.

What Characteristics Are Protected From Workplace Discrimination?

Ontario’s Human Rights Code prohibits employment discrimination based on protected grounds including:

  • Race and colour
  • Ancestry
  • Place of origin and ethnic origin
  • Citizenship
  • Creed or religion
  • Sex, including pregnancy
  • Sexual orientation
  • Gender identity
  • Gender expression
  • Age
  • Disability
  • Marital status
  • Family status
  • Record of offences, as defined by the Code

You can also be protected when discrimination happens because of your association with someone identified by a protected ground.

Does the Human Rights Code protect everyone at work?

Human rights protection is broader than many employees realize. It can apply during recruitment and hiring as well as throughout the working relationship and when employment ends.

The Code can also protect workers beyond traditional full-time employees, including people in other employment relationships.

Examples of Workplace Discrimination in Ontario

Discrimination can be obvious or subtle.

Examples include:

  • Disability: Cutting an employee’s hours because the employer assumes a medical condition makes them unreliable
  • Pregnancy: Passing over an employee for a promotion because she will soon take maternity leave
  • Age: Eliminating an older employee based on assumptions that a younger worker will be more adaptable
  • Race: Applying harsher performance or disciplinary standards to a racialized employee
  • Religion: Refusing to consider reasonable scheduling changes for a protected religious observance
  • Family status: Refusing to consider accommodation for protected childcare responsibilities
  • Sexual orientation or gender identity: Denying opportunities or treating an employee differently because of who they are
  • Termination: Firing or selecting an employee for layoff because of a protected characteristic

Can harassment also be discrimination?

Yes. Harassment connected to a protected Human Rights Code ground is a form of prohibited workplace treatment.

That can include racial harassment, disability-related comments, religious harassment, homophobic or transphobic conduct and sexual harassment at work.

Workplace harassment that is not connected to a protected characteristic can still raise separate rights under Ontario’s health and safety laws.

How Do You Know if You’re Being Discriminated Against?

You don’t need an email admitting discrimination to have a legitimate human rights concern.

Discrimination is often subtle. Look at the complete sequence of events.

Warning signs can include:

  • Negative treatment begins after your employer learns about a disability, pregnancy or other protected characteristic
  • Your employer suddenly questions your performance after an accommodation request
  • Employees in similar situations are treated differently
  • Comments or stereotypes are made about your age, race, disability, family, religion or another protected characteristic
  • Your employer’s explanation for a decision keeps changing
  • You are excluded from opportunities that comparable employees continue to receive
  • A layoff or termination closely follows disclosure of a protected need

None of those facts automatically proves discrimination. What matters is whether the evidence shows that a protected characteristic played a role in the treatment.

What if your employer gives another reason?

An employer can have more than one reason for a decision.

A legitimate business or performance reason does not automatically defeat a discrimination concern if a protected characteristic was also a factor.

For example, an employer might genuinely be restructuring while still making a discriminatory decision about which employee to eliminate.

Can a Failure to Accommodate Be Workplace Discrimination?

Yes. Employers have a legal duty to accommodate protected needs to the point of undue hardship.

Accommodation can involve changes such as:

  • Modified duties
  • Different hours or schedules
  • A gradual return to work
  • Time away for medical treatment
  • Workplace equipment or physical modifications
  • Changes for religious observance
  • Adjustments for protected family-status needs

Your employer doesn’t satisfy its duty simply by saying an accommodation is inconvenient.

See our guides to the duty to accommodate in Ontario and undue hardship.

What if your employer doesn’t know you need accommodation?

Employees should normally make their accommodation needs known.

But where an employer has good reason to believe a disability is affecting someone’s work, it can have a duty to inquire before treating the issue simply as poor performance or misconduct.

💡 Accommodation is part of equality. Treating everyone identically is not always enough when a workplace rule disadvantages someone because of a protected need.

Workplace Discrimination, Retaliation and Termination

Can your employer punish you for reporting discrimination?

No. Ontario’s Human Rights Code protects employees from reprisal for claiming or trying to enforce their human rights.

Retaliation can include:

See our complete guide to workplace retaliation in Ontario.

Can you be fired because of a protected characteristic?

No. Your employer can terminate you for legitimate reasons unrelated to a protected characteristic, but disability, race, pregnancy, age, family status or another protected ground can’t be a factor in the decision.

If you are fired, the situation can involve both human rights and employment-law claims.

You can also be entitled to a full Ontario severance package. Depending on factors such as your age, position, length of service and the availability of similar work, severance can reach 24 months’ pay.

Can discrimination force you to quit?

Severe or unresolved discrimination can amount to constructive dismissal.

That can happen where discrimination, retaliation or a serious failure to accommodate fundamentally damages the employment relationship.

If that threshold is met, you can leave and pursue compensation rather than simply resigning with nothing.

⚠️ Don’t resign because discrimination has made work unbearable without first getting legal advice. Whether the situation amounts to constructive dismissal can affect your right to severance.

What Should You Do if You’re Facing Workplace Discrimination?

  1. Write down what happened. Record important dates, decisions, comments and people involved.
  2. Keep relevant records. Preserve emails, messages, schedules, performance reviews and other documents you are legally entitled to retain.
  3. Identify the protected characteristic. Be clear about why you believe the treatment is connected to disability, race, sex, age or another Code ground.
  4. Raise the issue in writing. Use your employer’s complaint or human rights process where appropriate.
  5. Request accommodation if you need it. Explain the protected need and the workplace barrier that needs to be addressed.
  6. Document retaliation. Keep a record if your treatment changes after you complain.
  7. Don’t resign or sign a release before getting advice.

How do you file a workplace discrimination complaint in Ontario?

Human rights applications are filed with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO).

An HRTO application normally must be filed within one year of the discrimination. If there was a related series of discriminatory incidents, the deadline normally runs from the last incident in that series.

If discrimination also resulted in termination, constructive dismissal or another employment-law problem, get advice about all of your options before deciding how to proceed.

➡️ You don’t need to prove your entire case before asking for advice. Start with the protected characteristic, what happened afterward and the documents or timeline that support your concern.

Get Help With Workplace Discrimination in Ontario

Discrimination is often difficult to recognize because employers rarely admit that a protected characteristic influenced a workplace decision.

You don’t have to figure it out alone.

The Ontario employment lawyers at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP can review what happened, determine whether a protected characteristic was involved and explain your options involving accommodation, human rights, retaliation, constructive dismissal or severance.

Employees in the GTA can speak with our Toronto workplace discrimination lawyers.

The process doesn’t need to be overwhelming. Start by understanding whether what happened is legally discrimination and what the best next step is before you make a decision about your job.

⚠️ Unionized? You need to address workplace discrimination through your union and the grievance process. Our employment law team can’t assist with unionized workplace disputes.

Further Reading

Think You're Being Discriminated Against at Work?

You don't have to wait until you're fired to understand your rights. Get advice before resigning or accepting a major change to your job.

Book Your Consultation