Rights complaint over alleged discrimination Atira to proceed

A human rights complaint naming Atira Property Management will go ahead after a former employee alleged he was discriminated against based on his religion.

Ali Shaikh, who is Muslim, was hired on a two-month contract as a health-care support worker with Atira beginning in April 2020. He was scheduled to work Sunday to Tuesdays, from 7:30 p.m. to 8 a.m.

According to the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal decision allowing Shaikh's complaint to proceed, he submitted a request shortly after starting the contract to ask whether he could switch to day shifts during Ramadan as he needed to fast. The holy month calls for fasting during the day and gathering for iftar — the meal and prayer at sundown. The request was denied.

A few weeks later on May 17, 2020, when Shaikh was breaking his fast during his shift, Shaikh alleges a co-worker “expressed displeasure” and that the co-worker later told their supervisor that “`when asked to help out during last night's shift, (Shaikh) refused to do so.'” Shaikh's complaint suggests the statement “caused harm to his professional reputation and eventually led to his `constructive dismissal.'”

According to Atira's response, the co-worker had sought Shaikh's help with an individual in distress, but Shaikh did not respond. The co-worker considered this a safety issue.

Shaikh resigned on May 27, noting in his resignation email that he felt “he was not being treated fairly,” citing the refusal of a shift change to accommodate religious obligations.

In the decision issued in late March and posted this week, tribunal member Robin Dean said she was not convinced the comment made by Shaikh's co-worker amounted to harassment and the complaint against the individual co-worker was dismissed.

Dean did, however, allow the complaint involving the day shift refusal to proceed. While Atira argues Shaikh would not be able to prove a connection between any alleged adverse impacts and his religion, Dean noted Shaikh's resignation email notes clearly his reasons for resigning are due to the day shift request that was made for religious reasons, but refused.

The claims have not been proven.