A G looses challenge to Equal Opportunity Commission------------------- Stop frustrating anti-discrimination laws By JADA LOUTOO Saturday, October 18 2014 click on pic to zoom in JUSTICE BOODOOSINGH... JUSTICE BOODOOSINGH... A HIGH COURT judge has urged public officials and bodies to cease trying to frustrate laws that seek to prevent discrimination in TT. Rather, they must shift their focus to eliminating systems, processes and practices that discriminate against citizens of this country, Justice Ronnie Boodoosingh said yesterday. The judge made the comments as he ruled that service commissions, as “employers” of public officials, are subject to the Equal Opportunity Commission’s (EOC) adjudication of complaints of discrimination. In what can be considered a landmark ruling, Boodoosingh ruled that for the purposes of a complaint against an employer or prospective employer under the Equal Opportunity Act, service commissions, perhaps except for the Police Service Commission, were expressly part of the State and could be properly construed as the employer of a public officer and was subject to the EOC. The judge was asked by the EOC to interpret special provisions of the Act to determine the true meaning of the “employer” and the limits of the investigatory and conciliatory powers of the commission and the adjudicative powers of the Equal Opportunity Tribunal (EOT). In his 22-page ruling, Boodoosingh held that “the commissions cannot simply say they are not employers for the purposes of a complaint under the Act when they are clearly considered part of the State.” He noted that the Act must be seen as “an important means, albeit imperfect, to enhance the avenues open to citizens to have complaints of discrimination investigated and acted upon. “Public officials and bodies must resist the inclination to put up unjustified barriers, which frustrate the operation of the Act. “Rather, they must shift their focus to eliminating systems, processes and practices that discriminate against citizens of this country,” he stressed. According to the judge, the Act was a unique piece of legislation which allowed citizens to challenge certain kinds of discrimination before the EOC and the EOT. “It aims to promote equality of opportunity,” he noted. The legislation empowers the EOC to receive, investigate and as far as possible conciliate allegations of discrimination, while the EOT was an adjudicating body and superior court of record charged with the duty of hearing and determining complaints referred to it by the EOC . He noted that persons who are discriminated against could not always be expected to take their complaint to the courts as the process was expensive, slow at times and bound by strict legal strictures which often make it difficult to prove discrimination has occurred. “A litigant has an uphill and sustained battle to prove discrimination in the court. The Act was intended to give another layer of protection with an investigative process. The less complicated the process, the better it is for the average citizen to have his or her case properly investigated and to obtain some relief if necessary. The Act, therefore, expanded the options available to citizens since the litigation option is not always the most feasible or practical means to obtain redress,” he pointed out. According to Boodoosingh, the EOC has been faced with the service commissions saying they do not fall within the ambit of the Act. He said the State included government ministries, municipal corporations, statutory authorities, service commissions and the Tobago House of Assembly. “For the purposes of the EOA, therefore, the State, as an employer, includes the service commissions,” the judge said. Harran Ramkaransingh and Aleyya Gafoor-Ali appeared for the EOC while Avory Sinanan, SC, Kelvin Ramkissoon and Rishma Ramrattan appeared for the Attorney General. Russell Martineau, SC, Kavita Jodhan and Sean Julien appeared for the Director of Personnel Administration, which entered the matter as an interested party.
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 09:03:37 +0000
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