A knee injury, a hidden camera, and a promised brace that never came
An Ontario employer installed a camera to watch an injured employee sit at his workstation, promised him a knee brace it never delivered, then let him go. A tribunal ruled the company failed to accommodate him, yet it avoided paying a cent in lost wages.
In a decision dated August 31, 2026, Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario member Rosamaria Longo found that Footletic Inc., a footwear and orthotics company, discriminated against a former employee on the basis of disability and failed to accommodate his knee injury. Longo ordered the company to pay $20,000 for injury to the applicant's dignity, feelings and self-respect, but declined to award any lost wages.
The applicant began working for the company in May 2018 as a certified pedorthic technician. About five months later, he was injured while helping move a heavy grinding machine used in the shop, testifying that he felt a popping sensation in his knee followed by sharp pain. He kept working while attending physiotherapy but developed a limp that lasted for months.
As his recovery dragged on, the applicant testified, the company's co-owners grew unhappy watching him sit at his station and installed a camera to observe his work habits. One co-owner offered to have a business partner build him a custom knee brace, but the applicant testified it was never provided despite months of waiting.
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