The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) has issued today (1 June 2017) legal proceedings in the District Court under the Disability Discrimination Ordinance (DDO), Cap. 487, on behalf of a woman (the “Claimant”) who suffered from both injury at work and bipolar disorder. The Claimant alleged that her immediate supervisor (the “Respondent”) had harassed her on the ground of her disability by often calling her by an offending nickname and made a discriminatory remark against the Claimant on a particular day.

Under the DDO, harassment against a person with a disability is unlawful. Harassment is any unwelcome conduct on account of a person's disability where it can be reasonably anticipated that the person would be offended, humiliated or intimidated. Examples of disability harassment include insulting remarks and offensive jokes about a person's mental illness.

The EOC has granted legal assistance in this case as there remains prevalent harassment against disabled people who suffer from mental illness in the workplace. By taking this case to Court, the EOC hopes to raise public awareness of these discriminatory acts and remind the public that disability harassment in the workplace is unlawful.

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Equal Opportunities Commission
1 June 2017