A former firefighter had her claims of discrimination by the City of Richmond thrown out last week by the BC Human Right Tribunal - again.
Teresa Rush has twice tried to drag the city through the human rights court in the last few years.
In her latest bid, Rush - who lost her job in June, 2010, after being on paid and unpaid leave for three years due to being diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - accused the city and the local firefighters union of discrimination on grounds of her race (she is of Aboriginal descent), ancestry, mental disability and sex.
In her complaint, Rush claimed the city handled her employment situation differently because she is First Nations, a woman, and has a mental disability.
Rush also claimed it was discriminatory to try and find her a job outside of the fire department and that not enough options were considered.
She further claimed the union did not represent her well and encouraged her to take a new job well below her qualification level.
The city and the union denied they discriminated.
The human rights tribunal dismissed Rush's complaint, saying there was insufficient evidence to back up her claims.
The city refused to comment on the latest decision, citing personal privacy rules.
One of the issues in Rush's complaint centred on the job being offered to her by the city when she was finally deemed fit to return to work.
According to tribunal documents, the city acknowledged her disability (PTSD) would prevent her from returning to a position with the fire department.
And based on advice from two psychologists and a family doctor, the city offered to place Rush in a new position, outside of the fire department.
She rejected two offers, including "building services officer," or a janitor.
Rush complained the janitor offer suggested Aboriginal women with psychological conditions are only fit to do menial jobs.
She also stated her Aboriginal descent made her an "easy target."
Rush was off work for a year before the city filled her firefighter position in late 2008.
In her ruling issued last week, tribunal member Diana Juricevic dismissed the complaint against the city and the union.
Juricevic wrote that the search for a job outside the fire department was in line with the advice of medical professionals and there would be "no reasonable prospect" of showing the city ignored important issues, such as the cost of finding a new job and what positions were available.
"Considering all of the circumstances, there is no reasonable prospect that the city's decision to terminate Ms. Rush's employment after her second refusal to accept a reasonable accommodation offer was discriminatory," Juricevic wrote.
Juricevic further wrote, "there is no reasonable prospect of showing" that the firefighters union "did not fulfill its duty to represent her [Rush] during the accommodation process".
Rush has a long history of conflict with the city's fire department, where she said women were often considered outsiders and, in her opinion, were singled out for poor treatment by colleagues.
Rush wasn't the only female firefighter to claim she was harassed and discriminated against at Richmond Fire-Rescue. She is one of four who alleged harassment by their male counterparts between 1997 and the early 2000s, after their unit, previously based at Vancouver International Airport, was amalgamated with the heretofore all-male Richmond Fire-Rescue. One of the firefighters, Jeanette Moznik, tried to sue the city, but the B.C. Supreme Court rejected her suit, saying her claims were a matter for her union. One other female firefighter simply quit, and one committed suicide.
