Tribunal rejected employer's claim it could not afford $332 a month for disabled worker
A family-run BC convenience store that hired a relative with disabilities through a supported employment program has been ordered to pay nearly $40,000 after the BC Human Rights Tribunal found discrimination in the employer's refusal to allow a service dog at work, hurtful disability-related comments, and termination. In a decision dated March 13, 2026, Tribunal Member Jessica Derynck ruled the employer's good intentions did not affect their human rights obligations.
Kayla Aolick survived a rare childhood brain cancer that left her with a seizure disorder. In 2018, with the help of INEO Employment Services, she began an unpaid work experience placement at A1 Convenience Store — her first time in a workplace. Her service dog Shadow was trained to alert her before a seizure so she could take medication, or to alert someone else if she had a seizure and was unaware of it.
On her first day, the store owners' son told Aolick that Shadow could not stay. She worked without him for the entire duration of her employment.
Derynck found the employer never assessed whether Shadow could function in the store or discussed the impact with Aolick. "The Respondents made their decision based on limited information without discussing the issue with Kayla, leaving her in the position of deciding whether to work without Shadow so she could have a job," Derynck wrote. The Tribunal also found "no person was a...
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