Lethbridge Industries Ltd. v. Human Rights Commission (Alta.) et al., [2015] A.R. TBEd. DE.041

• Judge: Jones, J.
• Court: Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta (Canada)
• Case Date: December 01, 2015
• Citations: [2015] A.R. TBEd. DE.041;2015 ABQB 760

Lethbridge Ind. Ltd. v. HRC, [2015] A.R. TBEd. DE.041

MLB being edited

Currently being edited for A.R. - judgment temporarily in rough form.

Temp. Cite: [2015] A.R. TBEd. DE.041

Lethbridge Industries Ltd. (appellant) v. Alberta Human Rights Commission and Thomas Schulz (respondents)

(1206 00204; 2015 ABQB 760)

Indexed As: Lethbridge Industries Ltd. v. Human Rights Commission (Alta.) et al.

Alberta Court of Queen's Bench

Judicial District of Lethbridge

Jones, J.

December 1, 2015.

Summary:

Lethbridge Industries Ltd. (the Company) appealed a decision by the Human Rights Tribunal that the Company was discriminatory in its termination of Schulz.

The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench, in a decision reported at (2014), 595 A.R. 216, allowed the appeal on the issue of damages as granted by the Tribunal, reducing the period of reasonable notice from 30 to 20 months. The Court left open the question of whether the Human Tribunal erred in declining to deduct Long Term Disability (LTD) benefits from an award of damages for lost wages. Neither the LTD policy nor the employment contract had been put before the Tribunal. The parties reappeared before the Court, and provided both the LTD policy and the contract.

The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench, in a decision reported at [2015] A.R. Uned. 238, regarding the collateral benefits problem, ruled that the damage award granted in the 2014 decision would be reduced by the amount received under Schulz's LTD benefit payments. The issue now was whether the deduction ought to be made from the gross, pre-tax earnings or net, post-tax earnings Schulz would have received throughout the notice period. Schulz submitted that the LTD payments ought to be deducted from his gross earnings, while the Company argued that the deductions ought to be from Schulz's net earnings.

The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench agreed with Schulz. "[I]t is accurate and consistent with the law to deduct the long-term disability payments from Mr. Schulz's gross pre-tax income during the 20 month notice period."

Civil Rights - Topic 7185

Federal, provincial or territorial legislation - Remedies - Damages - See paragraphs 1 to 34.

Damages - Topic 1412

Special damages - Loss of wages - Deductions - See paragraphs 1 to 34.

Damages - Topic 1734

Deductions for payments or assistance by third parties - Contractually - From employer - Disability payments - See paragraphs 1 to 34.

Counsel:

C. I. Lam, for the appellant;

M. Pollard, for the respondents.

This matter was heard before Jones, J., of the Alberta Court Queen's Bench, Judicial District of Lethbridge, who delivered the following memorandum of decision, dated at Calgary, Alberta, on December 1, 2015.