The Canadian Human Rights Commission was ordered to find a new investigator to analyze a complaint from a bank staffer who claimed he was fired because he is not gay.
Aaren Jagadeesh worked for the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in Toronto as a financial services representative. Jagadeesh claimed that he had worked to get promotions but was repeatedly turned down. When he confronted his manager about the situation, he was told that only gay or bisexual men would be promoted.
His manager told him during the one-on-one meeting that there was “no hope” for a straight man to be promoted and urged him to join the “group” if he wanted to climb the company’s ladder. Jagadeesh claimed his manager said younger, less talented employees had been promoted because they were bisexual or gay. He recommended that Jagadeesh “be smart and learn.”
The manager also asked what Jagadeesh thought of him and was frustrated after being told that he was seen only as a manager.
Jagadeesh said the conversation harmed his “mental stress and self-dignity.” He also developed a vocal disorder that required him to take medical breaks shortly after the conversation, which he claimed the bank refused to accommodate. Jagadeesh alleged that he was denied 17 alternative positions. He believed that his sexuality was the reason he was denied an alternative job, leading to him being fired in May 2016, nine months after the one-on-one meeting with his manager.
He filed a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission, but the investigator dismissed the complaint without interviewing the accused manager about the complaint after being told he was on an “extended leave of absence.” The investigator claimed that the bank properly accommodated Jagadeesh’s vocal impairment and was not subject to discrimination.
Jagadeesh appealed the dismissal to federal court and claimed the investigator refused to interview the accused manager in an attempt to ignore the sexuality complaint. The justice agreed.
Justice Janet Fuhrer ruled that the commission must have a new investigator look into Jagadeesh’s complaint. Fuhrer also required the commission to repay Jagadeesh $3,332.30 for the legal fees he accrued while representing himself in court.
Senior consultant of public affairs for the bank, Crystal Jongeward, told National Post, “While we are unable to comment as the matter is still before the commission, no form of harassment or discrimination is acceptable at our bank.”
