The BC Human Rights Tribunal has awarded $10,000 to a 乌鸦传媒 man who didn鈥檛 tell his employer he鈥檇 been convicted of robbing a bank.聽
The tribunal said the owners of MotiveWave acted improperly when they fired the man, whose name is given only as 鈥楳r. T鈥 in a recent decision, after discovering his criminal history.聽
鈥淚n my view, the injury to his dignity flows from being told that he could not continue to work for MotiveWave because of his convictions,鈥 tribunal vice-chair Devyn Cousineau said in a recent decision.聽
鈥淚 order MotiveWave to pay Mr. T $10,000 as compensation for injury to his dignity, feelings, and self-respect,鈥 Cousineau said.聽
The Human Rights Code prevents discrimination based on a criminal conviction that is unrelated to a person乌鸦传媒 employment. The stipulation is aimed, among other things, at helping former offenders reintegrate into society, Cousineau said.聽
Mr. T robbed a bank in December 2014. He was in his early 20s at the time and was having mental health issues, Cousineau said. In December 2016, he was convicted and sentenced to nine months in jail.聽
After completing his sentence, he changed his name because he wanted a fresh start. That process was complete in the fall of 2020.聽
When Mr. T applied for a job with MotiveWave, which sells software for online financial trading, he used his new name and lied when asked if he had a criminal record. During an interview with Mr. T, one of the company乌鸦传媒 owners said it was important to her that the person she hired not have a criminal record, because the business is run out of a family home where three young children were present.聽
Asked during the tribunal hearing about his decision to lie, Mr. T said he didn鈥檛 think it was relevant to the type of work he was being hired for. He also said he wasn鈥檛 a violent person and didn鈥檛 believe he posed a risk to the children.聽
After he was hired, Mr. T had to give the company banking information which still had his old name. The owners quickly discovered he had held up a bank and had spent time in jail. He was fired after only seven days on the job.聽
The company owners also said they had concerns about Mr. T乌鸦传媒 performance during his one week with the company. They said he wasn鈥檛 focused on the job, had problems with other employees, and was unusually demanding and aggressive about some work conditions.聽
In his comments to the tribunal, Mr. T suggested he wouldn鈥檛 have pursued the matter if he鈥檇 simply been told his employment with the company wasn鈥檛 working out. But being told he was being let go because of his criminal record upset him, he said.聽
鈥淭hat demeaning of my character and who I was made it feel like all the progress I had made was for nothing,鈥 Mr. T testified. 鈥淏ecause ultimately if I ever came into a position of power, then people would only see me for the crimes I鈥檝e committed and not for the good I鈥檝e done.鈥