The BC Human Rights Tribunal has found that a cherry farm and its owner discriminated against a Jamaican temporary foreign worker after she was injured and became unable to perform her normal work. Tishanna Allison came to British Columbia in June 2022 under a temporary foreign worker permit and began working for Krazy Cherry Fruit Company. Her four month contract involved picking cherries and sorting fruit in a factory. Because her permit tied her employment to Krazy Cherry, losing that job had consequences beyond an ordinary employment change. The Tribunal found that the workplace already included negative comments about Jamaican workers. Allison testified that the owner, Gary Bahniwal, had made disparaging remarks about Jamaican women and had said Jamaican workers did not want to work. His son, who had a supervisory role, had also spoken negatively about Jamaican workers. In July 2022 Allison fell from a ladder while picking cherries and injured her back. The injury later developed into chronic back pain and a permanent partial disability recognized through WorkSafeBC.
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