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Abstract
In Damons v City of Cape Town (2022), by a majority, the Constitutional Court held that the inherent requirements of the job defence in s 6(2)(b) of the Employment Equity Act is a complete defence to a charge of unfair discrimination in respect of an employee who has no capacity to perform the job in question due to a disability that cannot be rehabilitated or reasonably accommodated. By contrast, in a sole dissent, Pillay AJ held that s 6(2)(b) is not a complete defence where the employer ought to have created a new position to fit the capacities of the employee as a reasonable accommodation measure. This commentary explores the implications of the Damons case and appraises the divergent approaches of the Constitutional Court.
Acknowledgement
I am grateful to Loot Pretorius for his comments on the first draft of this case note.
Disclosure statement
No conflict of interest has been declared by the author.
Notes
1 Section 30.
2 See for example, reports of the Commission for Employment Equity for 2021, 2022, and 2023 respectively: 21st Commission for Employment Equity Annual Report 20-21 (2021) 52; 22nd Commission for Employment Equity Annual Report 2021-22 (2022) 51; 23rd Commission for Employment Equity Annual Report 2022-23 (2023) 71.
3 Statistics South Africa Stats SA Profiles Persons with Disabilities (2014).
4 Commission for Employment Equity Reports for 2021, 2022 and 2023 (note 2 above).
5 World Health Organization & World Bank World Report on Disability (2011) 235.
6 International Labour Organization ‘New ILO database highlights labour market challenges for persons with disabilities’ (2022).
7 World Health Organization & World Bank (note 5 above) chapter 8; South African Human Rights Commission Promoting the Right to Work of Persons with Disabilities (2016).
8 L Graham ‘Differences in employment and income poverty between people with and without disabilities in South Africa’ (2020) 14 ALTER 299–317.
9 JF Trani, J Moodley, P Anand, L Graham & MTT Maw ‘Stigma of persons with disabilities in South Africa: Uncovering pathways from discrimination to depression and low self-esteem’ (2020) 265 Social Science & Medicine 113449.
10 Damons v City of Cape Town [2022] ZACC 13. In SAA v Hoffmann v SAA [2000] ZACC 17, unfair discrimination on the ground of disability was raised but the Constitutional Court declined to consider it, preferring to resolve the matter on other grounds: C Ngwena ‘Developing juridical method for overcoming status subordination in disablism: The place of transformative epistemologies’ (2014) 30 South African Journal on Human Rights 275, 278.
11 For example: IMATU v City of Cape Town [2005] 10 BLLR 1084 (LC); SAMWU obo Solomons and City of Cape Town (2009) 18 SALGB 8.1.4; Smith v Kit Kat Group (Pty) Ltd (2017) 38 ILJ 483 (LC); Standard Bank of South Africa v Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration 7 (2008) 29 ILJ 1239 (LC); Jansen v Legal Aid South Africa (2018) 39 ILJ 2024 (LC); Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union obo Strydom v Witzenburg Municipality (2012) 33 ILJ 1081 (LAC); Bidvest Data (Pty) Ltd v Statutory Council, Printing, Newspaper and Packaging Industry [2015] ZALCCT 12; Senekal v MEC for Education (Gauteng Province) [2015] ZALCJHB 303 (19 August 2015); Member of the Executive Council for the Department of Education Western Cape Government v Jethro [2019] 10 BLLR 1110 (LAC).
12 Damons (note 10 above) para 7.
13 SA Municipal Workers Union obo Damons v City of Cape Town (2018) 29 ILJ 1812 (LC).
14 Ibid para 22.
15 City of Cape Town v SA Municipal Workers Union obo Damons (2020) 41 (ILJ) 1893 (LAC).
16 IMATU (note 11 above) para 28.
17 TDF Network Africa (Pty) Ltd v Faris (2019) 40 ILJ 326 (LAC) para 37.
18 Department of Labour ‘Code of good practice and employment of persons with disabilities’ (9 November 2015) Government Gazette item 6.5.1(b).
19 City of Cape Town (note 15 above) paras 16–18.
20 Damons (note 10 above) para 119.
21 Damons (ibid) para 135.
22 Ibid paras 126-127.
23 Ibid para 126. The standard was adopted by the respondents from the United States. It emanates from the Standard on Comprehensive Occupational Medical Program for Fire Departments, 2003 edition of the USA National Fire Protection Association (NFPA 1582).
24 Damons (note 10 above) para 122.
25 TDF Network Africa (note 17 above) para 37; Damons (ibid) para 135.
26 Ibid.
27 Ibid.
28 Damons (note 10 above) para 141.
29 Ibid para 105.
30 Emphasis added.
31 Damons (note 10 above) para 77.
32 Department of Labour (note 18 above) item 6.1.
33 Damons (note 10 above) para 97.
34 Ibid para 36.
35 Ibid para 36.
36 Ibid paras 36, 37 and 75.
37 Emphasis added.
38 MEC for Education v Pillay 2008 (2) BCLR 99 (CC) paras 72–76; Witzenburg Municipality (note 11 above) para 8; JL Pretorius, ME Klinck & C Ngwena (eds) Employment Equity Law (2001, 2023 update) para 7.1.
39 Pillay (ibid) para 75.
40 Ibid para 73.
41 British Columbia (Superintendent of Motor Vehicles) v British Columbia (Council of Human Rights) (1999) 3 SCR 868 para 19.
42 Damons (note 10 above) para 80.
43 Ibid para 140.
44 United Nations General Assembly 3 December 2006, A/RES/61/106, entry into force: 3 May 2008.
45 Section 231(2) of the Constitution. A process is under way to consider domesticating the CRPD: South African Law Reform Commission ‘Domestication of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’ issue paper 39, Project 148 (Domestication of the CRPD) (2021).
46 Section 39(b) of the Constitution.
47 Section 3(a) and (b) of the Constitution.
48 Section 233 of the Constitution.
49 Pretorius et al (note 38 above) para 1.2.2.
50 Section 3(1) of EEA.
51 Article 1 of the CRPD.
52 CRPD, para (e) of preamble and art 1.
53 Article 2 of the CRPD.
54 Article 5(3) of the CRPD.
55 Article 27(1)(i) of the CRPD.
56 Articles 2 and 5(3) of the CRPD.
57 Pretorius et al (note 38 above) para 7.2.
58 Ibid.
59 Ibid.
60 SA Clothing and Textile Workers Union v Berg River Textiles – A Division of Seardel Group Trading (Pty) Ltd [2018] JOL para 37.
61 Damons (note 10 above) para 83.
62 Ibid para 36.
63 Harksen v Lane 1997 (11) BCLR 1489 (CC) para 53.
64 Section 11(1) of the EEA.
65 Section 1 of the EEA.
66 Act 4 of 2000.
67 Sections 14(i) and (ii) of the Equality Act.
68 Ibid ss 7(e), 8(h) and 9(c).
69 Department of Labour (note 18 above) item 6.1.
70 Damons (note 10 above) paras 79–81.
71 Pillay (note 38 above).
72 Section 14(3)(i) of the Equality Act.
73 Pillay (note 38 above) para 72.
74 Ibid para 73.
75 Pretorius et al (note 38 above) para 7.2.
76 Standard Bank of South Africa (note 11 above).
77 Witzenburg Municipality (note 11 above).
78 Ibid para 8.
79 Article 2 of the CRPD.
80 Central Okanagan School District No 23 v Renaud [1992] 2 SCR 970 para 983g–985a.
81 Pillay (note 38 above) para 76.
82 Damons (note 10 above) para 87.
83 International Labour Organization (ILO) Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention C111, 25 June 1958.
84 42 USC § 2000e-2(e).
85 Section 15(1)(a) of the Canadian Human Rights Act of 1985.
86 Section 7(2) of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and s 5 of the Race Relations Act 1976.
87 IMATU (note 11 above) para 103.
88 Ibid.
89 TDF Network Africa (note 17 above) para 37; Damons (note 10 above) para 135.
90 SA Clothing and Textile Workers Union (note 60 above) para 37.
91 Damons (note 10 above) para 140.
92 Ibid para 140.
93 Ibid para 97.
94 Ibid para 77.
95 Ibid.
96 In support of this view see: M van Staden ‘An update of recent labour law developments from the South African courts’ (2022) 4 Journal of South African Law 717, 742; R Laubscher ‘Aantekeninge: Overview of Constitutional Court judgments on the bill of rights – 2022’ (2023) 2 Journal of South African Law 316, 318.
97 C Wingfield & N Coetzer ‘The fired firefighter: The Concourt weighs in’ (2022) 2 Without Prejudice 20.
98 Damons (note 10 above) para 143.
99 Ibid para 142.
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Notes on contributors
Charles Ngwena
Charles Ngwena professor of law, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria