Global Courant 2023-05-17 06:03:03
A man who was fired from his new construction job by text message after revealing his hepatitis C diagnosis has slammed his former employer in a year-long B.C. human rights lawsuit
The man, identified only as D., filed a complaint against Path General Contractors and the owner after being fired in the fall of 2018. The BC Human Rights Tribunal ruled in favor of D. earlier this month, describing his dismissal as an “act” of discrimination that had a “devastating” effect on D.’s self-esteem and family relationships.
“Mr. D. described the fallout from the firing as an emotional implosion. He feared judgement, stigmatization and contempt and stopped going out in public or interacting with friends. He felt dehumanized and worthless. He said his days were filled with desperation and feeling unable to integrate into society,” reads the statement posted online on Monday.
“Instead of feeling like his disability was manageable, he felt it made him less of a person.”
D. was awarded more than $65,000 in damages in a ruling that explored the ongoing stigma and pervasive misconceptions surrounding the disease, which experts say continues to create harmful barriers for people well beyond the workplace.
“The stigma can really affect how you see yourself in the world and your place in the world and how you are treated or maybe anticipate being treated by others,” said Trevor Goodyear, a nurse and doctoral student studying the disease at the University of British Columbia.
“I think (this case) is critical and sends a signal that the hepatitis C stigma still exists today.”
Culture of ‘Toxic Masculinity’
D. was a general laborer on Path for two weeks when he injured himself at work on October 2, 2018. He went to get medical attention and told the construction safety officer or CSO that he had hepatitis C.
“After Mr. D. was treated, the CSO ran across the job site to the construction site supervisor yelling, ‘Holy shit, did you know (Mr. D) has hepatitis!’ He said he wanted Mr. D. gone. These comments were audible to other employees,” the statement said.
“The next morning, on October 3, 2018, when Mr. D. arrived at work, he received a text from Mr. Donovan informing him that he had been fired for failing to disclose his hepatitis C diagnosis.”
The ruling also said a colleague testified that he heard other employees make “disparaging remarks and disgust about hepatitis C” after D. was fired.
“The evidence before me is that the work culture at Path was one of little respect or support and an environment of toxic masculinity,” tribunal member Edward Takayanagi wrote in the ruling.
Hepatitis C is a chronic liver infection caused by the hepatitis C virus, or HCV. For D., the tribunal said the condition amounts to a disability under the human rights code because it causes daily lethargy, fluctuating blood sugar levels and a risk of seizures by interacting negatively with his other medical conditions.
Takayanagi found that the diagnosis was “probably the single factor” behind the employer’s decision. As such, he said the dismissal was discriminatory on the basis of disability.
Combat stigma
During an interview on Tuesday, Goodyear said stigma surrounding hepatitis C can affect a person’s career, relationships, health care, housing, education and other facets of their lives.
“The person who brought this case forward was quite courageous in sharing his experience and outlining the damage it did to his life,” the nurse said.
“Fighting (stigma) isn’t just a responsibility on an individual level. That’s not something one person can do, but something you know we have to do as a society.”
According to the ruling, Path did not file a response to D.’s complaint, did not participate in the dispute resolution process and did not attend the hearing last month.
D. noted that losing his job is the most serious consequence of workplace discrimination and was awarded more than $18,000 for violations of dignity, feelings and self-esteem.
He also received more than $48,600 for lost wages.
