It skipped the hearing entirely, but the tribunal still had plenty to say

An Ontario environmental remediation company skipped its own human rights hearing entirely, and the tribunal pressed ahead anyway. The result was a mixed verdict: liability for harassment on the job, but dismissal of claims tied to accommodation, reprisal and how the worker was paid.

In a decision dated August 18, 2026, Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario adjudicator Lavinia Inbar found Decon Environmental Remediation Inc. liable for harassing a worker on the basis of disability, ordering the company to pay $15,000 for injury to dignity, feelings and self-respect, while dismissing the worker's claims of failure to accommodate, reprisal and discriminatory pay practices.

Tribunal proceeds despite employer's absence

The worker, an immigrant from Honduras who is Spanish speaking, began working for the company as a general labourer in 2014 and was later asked to supervise a crew. After a workplace injury in 2017 that required stitches to his knee, he went on Workplace Safety and Insurance Board benefits and returned to a modified role in July 2019. He stopped working on November 5, 2019, saying he could no longer manage the pain.

The company had earlier stopped responding to the tribunal altogether and was deemed to have accepted every allegation in the application. At the hearing, the worker testified that one supervisor asked why he had bothered coming back to work and said, according to his account, “They...

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