Salon Worker fired over headscarf, she says

A young Markham woman who works as an esthetician claims she was fired for wearing an Islamic headscarf because the salon “promotes hair.”

Mehwish Ali, a 22-year-old esthetician with Trade Secrets in Pickering, was fired Tuesday, a day after she says the co-owner told her the hijab was unacceptable.

“I was devastated when I heard that,” Ali told the Star. “I have worn the hijab for more than 10 years and never felt any kind of discrimination.”

The hijab, burqa and niqab, all Islamic gear worn by women, have been generally accepted in Canada but complaints like these are still common, said Jennifer Ramsay of Human Rights Legal Support Centre in Toronto.

“It’s unfortunate but we do get a lot of complaints,” said Ramsay. “It is perplexing.”

Read the full article on the Toronto Star.

Lear more about your Human Rights at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.

Facebook comments can get you fired!

B.C. labour board backs 2 firings over Facebook comments.

Add Canada to the list of places where Facebook can be hazardous to your employment status.

Two workers at a B.C. car dealership were sacked for what they wrote about their employer and their managers on Facebook. And the B.C. Labour Relations Board has upheld their dismissal.

The incident, which occurred in Pitt Meadows just east of Vancouver, is believed to be the first such case in Canada.

“It’s the first Facebook case that has made it to hearing,” said Donald Richards, the lawyer who handled it for the employer, but he added there are likely plenty more to come.

Read more at the Toronto Star

Employee wins constructive dismissal suit without leaving his job

Court rules employee can mitigate constructive dismissal damages by continuing to work as long as it’s clear the employee does not consent to the changes.

An Ontario employee has been awarded almost two years’ pay at his old salary in lieu of notice for constructive dismissal, despite the fact he continued to work uninterrupted for the employer in his regular position after a significant pay cut.

Read more at Canadian Employment Law Today

Changes to the Employment Standards Claim process will impact workers

The Ministry of Labour will be introducing changes to the Employment Standards claims process on January 19, 2011. The Government is increasing the steps that workers must take before they can even file a claim.

The changes to the claims process put into effect the Government's Open for Business Act that passed October 21, 2010.

When considering whether to file a claim before or after January 19, 2011, you should consider that:

1) The new claims process will require workers to contact their employer to seek wages and entitlements owed under the Employment Standards Act before they will be allowed to file a claim at the Ministry of Labour. There will be some exceptions to this requirement. Workers will be required to report on the steps they have taken to enforce their rights with the employer on their claim form.

2) Workers will be required to provide, in writing, specified information and evidence for their complaint before the claim will be accepted for investigation.
Complaints for unpaid wages and employment standards rights will not proceed unless these steps are taken (with some exceptions). Claims that don't meet these requirements will be deemed withdrawn after 6 months.

Ex-Nortel workers: Cutting off the disabled

Any bankruptcy is painful. Workers lose their jobs and creditors can lose their shirts — but there is usually a chance to bounce back.

Not so for Nortel employees who were on long-term disability payments at the time their employer went bankrupt nearly two years ago. They can’t start over. Yet their disability payments will be cut off at the end of this month, after the Conservatives used their new majority in the Senate to defeat efforts to keep them above water.

Read the full story on the Toronto Star.

Ontario Launches Workplace Health & Safety Contact Centre

Ontario has launched a new toll-free number -- 1-877-202-0008 -- to report workplace health and safety incidents or unsafe work practices, or for general inquiries.

On November 1, 2010, the Ministry of Labour launched a Health & Safety Contact Centre, which allows anyone, anywhere in Ontario to call one number to report a workplace health and safety incident, critical injury, fatality or work refusal. The public can also call that number if they suspecy unsafe work practices or for general inquiries. The number operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Before the launch, separate numbers existed for each provincial region. With one number, Ontario is creating a more efficient and streamlined phone system for workplaces and the public to contact the Ministry.

Source: CIEN Magazine Article

For more information, see the Ministry of Labour's Website

Human rights tribunal slams Toronto police

The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario says Toronto police must undergo training for dealing with internal complaints after a former constable was “stripped of her dignity as a woman.” The respondents shall jointly and severally pay to the applicant $20,000.00 as compensation for injury to her dignity, feelings and self-respect.

Toronto Star article.
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/874400--human-rights-tribunal-slams-toronto-police

The case on CanLii
http://www.canlii.org/en/on/onhrt/doc/2010/2010hrto2037/2010hrto2037.html