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October 25, 2023 - 7:00 PM
The BC Human Rights Tribunal will hear a Penticton education assistant's claim that she was discriminated against for her disability.
Certified Educational Assistant Michelle Broe was put on leave in 2018 when coworkers complained of bullying and harassment.
School District 67 investigated the claims and substantiated the complaints, but attributed her behaviour to a mental disability, according to a human rights tribunal decision.
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Broe claims she was discriminated against over the course of the investigation, and the tribunal decided to hear the issue at a future date after the school district applied to dismiss her claims.
Broe was called "overly and obsessively critical" in the investigation, according to the decision.
Two coworkers complained in November 2018, and investigators found Broe was shouting at coworkers, made "inappropriate facial expressions" at some and involved herself in matters beyond her work duties, despite being told to stop.
She also showed "no awareness or appreciation" of how her behaviour affected others, according to the decision.
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Investigators began to suspect she had a mental illness and attributed it to her behaviour. Although it "influenced" her conduct, it did not excuse it, the school district found, before sending her a letter of discipline in January 2019 and transferring her from Penticton Secondary to another school.
Although investigators suspected she had a mental illness, they didn't confirm it with Broe nor make any accommodations for her during the investigation, according to the decision.
What her illness is wasn't described in the decision, but her diagnosis was confirmed.
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She was placed on administrative leave until the investigation concluded, then she was put on paid sick leave as the school district requested that Broe hand in a medical assessment before returning to work.
Broe refused. She said she takes medication for her illness and continues to deny the bullying allegations. She said the district's concerns were "all lies" and that she "performed (her) duties 100 per cent and then some," according to the decision.
The district continues to wait on her medical assessment, which Broe disputed as discriminatory.
The tribunal disagreed and found it reasonable for the district to request an assessment before she return to work, but allowed her second complaint to continue.
The allegation she was discriminated against during the investigation or in the district's discipline process will he heard by the tribunal again at a later date, the decision reads.
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