A small non-profit organization providing community services in a mid-sized Canadian city had operated for 11 years with a stable team of 8 full-time employees and a rotating roster of part-time staff and volunteers. The organization's work centred on delivering programming to underserved populations, and its operating budget of approximately $650,000 annually came primarily from government grants and private donations. The executive director, who had led the organization since its founding, managed day-to-day operations with minimal administrative support and no dedicated human resources function.
In the spring, the organization terminated the employment of a program coordinator who had worked there for just over 2 years. The termination letter cited performance concerns and a restructuring of program delivery, providing 3 weeks of working notice plus 2 weeks of pay in lieu. The program coordinator had, in the 4 months preceding termination, disclosed a mental health condition to the executive director and requested accommodation in the form of modified scheduling for medical appointments and a temporary reduction in public-facing duties during a period of intensive treatment. The organization had agreed to some scheduling modifications but had declined other requests, citing operational constraints and the coordinator's essential role in community programming.
Approximately 6 weeks after the termination took effect, the organization received formal notice that a human rights complaint had been filed against it. The complaint alleged discrimination on the basis of disability, asserting that the termination was connected to the coordinator's mental health condition and that the organization had failed to adequately accommodate the disability before ending the employment relationship. The complaint sought reinstatement, compensation for lost wages spanning the period since termination, and damages for injury to dignity, feelings, and self-respect.
The organization now faces the task of responding to the complaint within the prescribed timeline while continuing to deliver its programs and maintain workplace morale among remaining staff, some of whom worked closely with the former coordinator. The board of directors, composed of 5 volunteer members with limited experience in employment disputes, must determine how to allocate limited organizational resources to mount a response. The executive director's contemporaneous documentation of the performance concerns and the accommodation discussions exists but is scattered across emails, handwritten notes, and incomplete personnel files. The organization carries directors and officers liability insurance but has never made a claim under the policy and is uncertain whether the policy responds to human rights proceedings or legal costs associated with the complaint.