The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has awarded Cheryl Khan, an employee for Lynx Trucking Transportation, $25,000.00, as well as $6,750.00 for lost wages, after her former employer, Lynn Tompkins, made racist remarks to her and terminated her employment. When an employer makes such remarks to an employee, the employer may find themselves facing a claim of discrimination, workplace harassment, or, as in this case, Human Rights violations.
Over the course of her employment, the employee, who worked for the employer for two years as a dispatcher in the employer’s trucking company, was referred to by the employer as a “stupid immigrant”, as well as many other degrading and racist comments including “Paki” and referring to her children as “half-nigger babies”.
After taking two days off in order to look after her youngest son who was in the Hospital for Sick Children, the employee was terminated by the employer. The employer claimed that the employee was terminated due to her poor work habits, such as logging into her Facebook account during working hours. Despite the employee admitting to this behaviour, the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal still found the employer’s comments were in violation of the Ontario Human Rights Code and ordered the employer to pay the amounts mentioned above.
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