The Federal Court of Canada has ordered the Canadian Human Rights Commission to reassess a work discrimination case of a man who claimed he was discriminated against _ because he's heterosexual.
In April 2017, Aaren Jagadeesh filed a complaint with the commission saying that his manager at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) in Toronto repeatedly turned him down for promotions because he wasn't gay or bisexual.
According to CTV News, Jagadeesh claims that in 2015 he was told in a meeting that all of the bank's managers "in both his office and headquarters were either gay or bisexual" and that was "why young employees with little qualifications were promoted."
He was also allegedly told that he had "no hope" of getting a promotion unless he joined their "group."
The human rights commission originally dismissed his claims of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, but a federal court judge has ordered the commission to open a new investigation on the case.
Jagadeesh, who worked as a financial services representative, said that he was not treated equally, which affected his "mental stress and self-dignity."
His job required him to call around 60 to 70 customers per day. After being diagnosed with vocal cord injuries, he claims that the bank denied him adequate workplace accommodations. Instead, he was asked to go on short-term disability.
According to the ruling, Jagadeesh believed that "despite his qualifications, experience, and excellent performance, he was denied workplace accommodation for his disability, and not offered any alternative position."
He was terminated in 2016.
Following his complaint, the human rights commission's investigator "noted Mr. Jagadeesh's allegations of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, but declined to investigate further," according to the ruling, and that "aside from the complainant's feelings in this regard, the complainant did not provide any other evidence to support his allegations that the respondent differentiated against him in employment based on sexual orientation."
The federal court ruled that the human rights commission inappropriately dropped the case. Besides ordering a new investigation, the judge also ordered CIBC to pay Jagadeesh $3,332.30, according to The Post Millennial.
