Tribunal holds employer's efforts to 'a standard of reasonableness, not perfection'
A Whole Foods dishwasher asked for shorter shifts just days into her new job. Three months later, she was out of work.
However, a subsequent human rights complaint has now been thrown out by the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal.
On Sept. 23, 2026, tribunal member Ijeamaka Anika dismissed the complaint against Whole Foods Market and two store leaders without a hearing. She found the grocer was reasonably certain to show it had met its duty to accommodate the worker, and that the process ended when the worker stopped taking part.
The worker joined a Whole Foods store as a full-time dishwasher in February 2022. She says she told the store team leader at her interview that she had sciatica and could not carry more than two to three kilograms. Whole Foods remembers it differently. It says she raised concerns about lifting over 30 kilograms and was told the job involved 23 kilograms, with help available.
Her first full shift came on Feb. 4. She says it left her with back strain, so she asked to work no more than six hours a day, and the store team leader agreed to adjust her schedule. Whole Foods did not respond to that point, and her shifts on Feb. 5 and 8 stayed the same.
Within days, she was missing shifts and asking to move to part time. A culinary associate team leader pointed her to the online job portal, where she applied for three positions.
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