B.C. tribunal awards $9,000 to woman who was fired while pregnant
The B.C. Human Rights Tribunal has ordered a Surrey real estate company to pay $9,000 in damages after firing a pregnant employee.
Kamalpreet Dhillon filed a complaint against Planet Group after the company terminated her employment as a receptionist in May 2011.
Dhillon alleged she was discriminated against by the company who she believes fired her because she was pregnant.
According to tribunal documents, the termination was a significant source of stress for the mother-to-be.
Dhillon feared she would lose her baby and worried about how to support her family since her husband had recently lost his job.
Planet Group denied Dhillon was fired because of the pregnancy, claiming poor work performance was the only reason for the decision.
However, tribunal member Diana Juricevic found no evidence work-performance issues were formally addressed before the firing or that any warnings were issued.
In a written ruling issued on March 28, Juricevic determined the pregnancy was a factor in the decision to terminate Dhillon’s employment.
Juricevic awarded Dhillon $6,000 for injuries to dignity, feelings and self-respect, as well as $3,000 for lost wages.
Comments
3 Comments
W
Apr 2, 2013 at 4:19pm
These fines should be an incentive NOT to violate people's rights.
$600,000 would seem by many as large but with real estate prices in Vancouver even $6M would be considered the cost of doing business by many realty firms. If the fine was 25% of their last years revenue (not profit) no company would risk the fine.
We shouldn't be condoning illegal acts with menial insignificant fines.
PJ
Apr 3, 2013 at 11:29am
What if it was because of poor preformace? why should an employer not be able to fire someone just because she is pregnant, .Big companies know better as they know lawsuits will occur,but it is a good excuse to sue when you are a slacker.
DJ
Apr 23, 2013 at 2:46pm
Re: PJ
If a company feels the need to terminate employment because of poor work performance then there should be plenty of evidence to support that: reprimands, written warnings, etc. A pattern of incompetence can easily be documented if that is truly the case. The sad truth of the matter is that many women face pregnancy discrimination on the job and are fired for no reason other than being pregnant.