Discriminate means treating someone differently because of a personal characteristic such as Indigenous identity, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression. The Yukon Human Rights Act applies to discrimination. The Yukon Human Rights Commission has further helpful resources on discrimination.

A fair hiring process is based on ability to do the job and is objective, consistent, and non-discriminatory. Fairness includes addressing the possibility of unconscious bias.

Fairness applies at all stages of the hiring process including the details in the posted position, the screening potential candidates, interviewing, selection, and offer.

A hiring process should set out the steps to follow for filling all positions. Best practice is for the process to be outlined in a policy. The steps in a hiring process typically include: describing the position and setting selection criteria, advertising/posting, assessing applications (short listing), interviewing, checking references, and making job offers.

Unconscious bias is an attitude about the characteristics or qualities implicitly applied to groups of people. This attitude results in favouring or discriminating against people based on underlying assumptions about them, rather than on their actual abilities. Unconscious bias becomes a legal issue particularly when it affects hiring decisions.

Collective agreements often provide for a specific amount of time for the posting of vacant positions and have rules about respecting seniority.

A collective agreement is a written contract between an employer and a union. It outlines the terms and conditions of employment for employees in a bargaining unit. A bargaining unit is a particular group of employees and often does not include management employees.

A union is an organization or association of employees that regulate relations between employees and their employer through a process called collective bargaining. If your non-profit is unionized, different rules apply to the employment relationship.