Worker wearing shorts.Stephan Hoerold
British Columbia's Human Rights Tribunal will hear a complaint from a man who says he was punished by his health-authority employer because a medical condition requires him to wear shorts.
Hal Legere, a power engineer with the Provincial Health Services Authority, told the tribunal he was on the job in July, 2010, when a sign fell on him. Mr. Legere said he suffered minor cuts to his legs and sprained both wrists. He was wearing shorts at the time because he has varicose veins in his legs. The veins cause his calves to bulge out and are irritated by the touch of pants.
Mr. Legere said that, two days after the incident, his supervisor issued a directive that all department employees wear pants. Mr. Legere said he provided a doctor's note that explained his condition, but was suspended a few weeks later. In February, 2011, he said he was told he would not be hired for a position for which he had applied because of the "shorts issue."
"The whole thing is totally bizarre," Mr. Legere said when reached by phone on Monday.
Although the tribunal has agreed to hear Mr. Legere's case, his allegations have not been proven.
He filed his complaint last August, alleging discrimination on the basis of physical disability. Mr. Legere said he was continually harassed by his supervisor and was told he would be considered for a position as assistant chief engineer only if he withdrew his complaint.
The supervisor is listed as a respondent in the case, along with PHSA, the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, and another supervisor accused of telling Mr. Legere directly that he would not receive the assistant chief engineer job because of the issues over his work attire.
A PHSA lawyer told the tribunal Mr. Legere's complaint was based on two allegations. The first was that he was required to wear long pants at work, which he considered discriminatory. However, PHSA said that allegation dated back to 2010, and Mr. Legere had missed the six-month deadline to file.
Mr. Legere countered he did not need to file the complaint then because of ongoing efforts to accommodate him. The tribunal, however, agreed to dismiss that element of the complaint on the technicality.
Bernd Walter, the tribunal's chair, wrote in his decision delivered late last week that Mr. Legere's second allegation – that he was not hired for the assistant chief engineer position out of retaliation – could go forward. A date has not been set.
Mr. Legere said in an interview he is considering seeking a judicial review regarding the first allegation in his case.
Mr. Legere, 56, said the irritation from wearing trousers is "not a big, painful thing." He equated it to a mild sunburn. But he said wearing long pants forces him to adjust the way he walks, to ease the feeling on his calves. This, he said, exacerbates a hip problem.
Mr. Legere has been a PHSA employee since 2004 and is still on the job, in his pants. He said he is looking for work elsewhere.
"It just ain't right. In my submissions, I said the interesting thing about this case is that it would be more advantageous to the employer to just allow me to wear the shorts than to fight it," he said, citing the costs of the case.
David Weir, a PHSA spokesman, said in an interview the health authority has an obligation under WorkSafeBC regulations to protect worker safety and considers pants to be part of an engineer's protective equipment.
He could not say why Mr. Legere was allowed to wear shorts at the time of the 2010 incident. He also would not comment on the retaliation allegation, since it is before the tribunal.
However, Mr. Weir said PHSA has accommodated Mr. Legere by custom-making pants that address his situation.
Gerald Boey, medical director of the Arbutus Laser Centre in Vancouver, said a varicose vein "is a little sensitive to the touch." However, he said this was the first time he'd heard someone suggest there was too much irritation to wear long pants.