In its January 4th, 2013 edition, The Royal Gazette featured an article concerning Phillip Ingham, a man who suffers from Cerebral Palsy. In that story, Mr Ingham stated that throughout his working career in Bermuda he has suffered harassment, assaults and threats in the workplace on account of his physical disability.Mr Ingham, who is clearly frustrated by his ordeal, called on Government to take further, concrete action to prevent this sort of behaviour from recurring. Mr Ingham also suggested that new legislation should be passed which would ensure that managers could be held accountable for the actions of workers employed beneath them.He then went on to state that he cannot afford to take legal action to seek redress in this matter. He then said that despite complaints that were made to the Human Rights Commission “years ago” no action was taken. Mr Ingham also said that reporting these incidents to the police only made matters worse and in light of this a new initiative must be taken to ensure that people like himself are afforded justice.Mr Ingham’s account is, unfortunately, not unique. Mr Ingham may, however, be pleased to learn that in recent years, Bermuda’s Human Rights Act has been extensively amended and does afford mechanisms that would allow him to pursue his complaints before a Human Rights tribunal or the civil courts.The Human Rights Act is clear; it is an offence to discriminate against a person on the basis of a physical disability in the workplace. Furthermore it is an offence to harass a fellow employee or for a manager or business owner to allow an employee to be harassed by a fellow co-worker. The Human Rights Act also prohibits retaliation against a person who has laid a Human Rights complaint. In the event that there is a finding that an employee was discriminated or harassed in the workplace, the perpetrators and the employer may be ordered to pay a monetary award to the victim of that discrimination.What Mr Ingham, or anyone else facing a similar situation, may wish to do is lay a formal complaint with the Human Rights Commission. If the Executive Officer of the Human Rights Commission is satisfied that there is some substance to the complaint, an investigation will then be undertaken by the staff of the Human Rights Commission. At the end of that investigation the Executive Officer may then be refer to a Human Rights tribunal if satisfied that there is validity to the complaint. The tribunal will then conduct an inquiry that closely resembles a civil trial. In the lead up to the hearing by the tribunal, a complainant may request that he or she be provided with a lawyer to represent him before the tribunal at the Government’s expense.From there, the tribunal will hear the matter and first decide whether the complainant has proved his or her case on a balance of probabilities. If the tribunal is satisfied that there was unlawful discrimination or harassment, as defined by the Human Rights Act, the tribunal may then order the respondent to pay money to the complainant in recognition of his or her loss of dignity. The tribunal also has the power to order the respondent to pay monetary compensation for any financial losses suffered by the complainant that directly resulted from the unlawful discrimination or harassment.Should Mr Ingham or anyone in a similar situation wish to make such a complaint, they must do so within two years of the discriminatory act taking place if they wish a Human Rights Tribunal to hear the matter. If, however, that deadline is missed, a complainant still has the option of filing a law suit with the Supreme Court of Bermuda for the violation of his or her rights as protected by the Human Rights Act provided that this is done within six years of the discriminatory action taking place.In summary, there is already a sophisticated and effective system in Bermuda that will afford justice to those who are the victims of discrimination in Bermuda. Should anyone feel that they have been the subject of unlawful discrimination in the workplace they should consider contacting the Human Rights Commission for the purpose of filing a formal complaint. The Human Rights Commission was created to deal with this type of situation and to ensure that Justice is available to those who have suffered unlawful discrimination.* Allan Doughty is an Attorney who is employed as a Senior Associate by Trott & Duncan Limited.