AG looses challenge to Equal Opportunity Commission -------------------- Kamla said serve d ppl but dey tryin to deny poor ppl the benefit of the law ---------------------- 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.
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 09:10:49 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015