A Black woman living with Multiple Sclerosis was employed as a Personal Support Worker. She was accused of fraudulent activity when she asked a co-worker to sign off on a document which was due while she was off on vacation. This had been a regular practice between workers in the office so she did not think it would be an issue.
When she returned from vacation, she was terminated without cause. There was no progressive discipline, despite there being a “3 strikes” policy in place.
Our client felt she was fired because it was easier to “get rid of” a person with a disability and that she was now labelled as a “fraudulent black woman”. She provided four examples of white co-workers who were not terminated for similar incidents.
The Centre negotiated an agreement that included:
- Financial compensation for the discrimination;
- Human rights training by an external consultant for all managers;
- A positive letter of reference and matching verbal reference;
- A mutual non-disparagement clause.