Candidate believes they were not considered for appointment due to lack of valid second language test results

Jurisdiction

The review of the investigation request was conducted in accordance with section 66 of the Public Service Employment Act (S.C. 2003, c. 22, ss. 12 and 13).

Issue

The review aimed to determine whether an investigation was warranted to examine the concerns raised by a candidate. The candidate alleged they were disadvantaged in an advertised external appointment process because they were not retained due to the absence of second language tests, despite having confirmed with the department their willingness to take them. According to the candidate, it was unfair that another candidate was appointed while they were not given the opportunity to do their second language tests. They also claimed to have been disadvantaged because they belonged to equity-seeking groups.

Facts

The candidate did the assessments for the appointment process, except for second language tests.

The department confirmed that no candidate was invited to take second language tests. Candidates with valid second language test results were considered fully qualified, while others were considered partially qualified. The department stated that fully and partially qualified candidates were considered equally when selecting a candidate for appointment.

The initial intent of the appointment process was to fill the position for a period of 2 years. However, at the time of staffing, the department’s fiscal situation and hiring restrictions related to workforce increases no longer allowed for hiring an external candidate. Only an acting appointment of an employee already within the department was feasible. Managers have the discretion to decide whether to offer employment at the end of an appointment process, taking current circumstances into account.

The candidate alleged that the department’s conduct changed after the interview, as the assessment board was able to observe their skin colour, race and religion during the interview. According to the Tool for Mitigating Biases and Barriers in Assessment, developed by the Public Service Commission of Canada’s Personnel Psychology Centre, knowing personal information such as race, country of origin or religion can lead to unconscious bias.

The documentation obtained showed that the department assessed the evaluation methods and implemented strategies to mitigate potential biases and barriers in this appointment process. Although the assessment board saw the candidate during the interview, the information obtained was insufficient to suggest that the evaluation process disadvantaged the candidate due to their belonging to equity-seeking groups. Our review revealed no indication that one or more prohibited grounds of discrimination may have negatively affected their candidacy, as the decision not to appoint external candidates appeared to be primarily related to the department’s fiscal situation.

Jurisdiction decision

The information obtained from the candidate and the department was insufficient to suggest the possibility that an error, an omission or improper conduct, including an error, an omission, or improper conduct stemming from a bias or barrier that disadvantages individuals from any equity-seeking group, may have occurred while the candidate was being considered. As a result, the Commission determined that an investigation was not warranted under section 66 of the Public Service Employment Act. An investigation was not conducted.

File number: 25-26-02