On October 17, we examined some of the vital provisions in the Equal Opportunity Act Chap 22:03 that govern how the commission handles complaints.

The Equal Opportunity Act protects citizens who have been discriminated against and seeks to promote equality of opportunity and treatment for all. One of the functions of the Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC) in implementing the act is to receive, investigate and conciliate complaints of discrimination

October is Blind Awareness Month and many organisations and individuals around the world will focus on education to raise awareness on the accomplishments of those who are blind

International Day of Sign Languages will be observed on Friday 23rd September, and we are taking the opportunity to raise awareness and support deaf people and other sign language users, as well as encourage members of the public to consider learning sign language.

On September 18, United Nations (UN) member states commemorated International Equal Pay Day. This day is dedicated to raising awareness of unequal pay for women and pushing to close the gender pay gap.

On May 9, we explained why the employer should take issues of sexual harassment seriously and what they should do to try to prevent it. Today we will consider what the employer should do when harassment actually occurs, that is, what would be appropriate corrective responses.

Today marks International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion, an observation on the United Nations (UN) human rights calendar. The day is designed to draw attention to those who suffered or were persecuted for trying to exercise their freedom of religion or belief.

The categories included in the Equal Opportunity Act (EOA) are broad and provide coverage for a wide range of services and accommodations. In previous columns, we discussed three categories, which are employment, education and provision of accommodation.

Section 18 of the Act refers to this category as the Provision of Accommodation and the status grounds protected by the Act are: race, ethnicity, sex, disability, marital status, origin including geographical origin and religion.