Receptionist fired for pregnancy awarded $35K

An Ontario woman has been awarded $35,000 by the province's Human Rights Tribunal after she lost her job as a receptionist when she reveled she was pregnant.

Jessica Maciel, 20, will receive $15,000 as compensation for injury to her dignity and feelings and $20,000 in lost wages and maternity benefits from the owner of two related hair salons the tribunal ruled this week, finding Maciel's pregnancy was "likely the only factor" in her firing.
Kate Sellar, Maciel's lawyer from the Human Rights Legal Support Centre, said the centre receives an "alarming" number of calls each week from women let go while pregnant.

"This story is typical and it shouldn't be," Sellar said Thursday. "It's illegal to fire workers because they are pregnant. Our centre receives 40 calls a week from women who are in a similar situation."
Most of the calls come from women who are fired when their employer learns they are pregnant. Others are from women terminated while on maternity leave or returning back to work, Sellar said. She said the firings are across all professions and the "vast majority" of woman lose their jobs under the guise of another non-discriminatory reason.
"Occasionally, we will encounter an employer who tells an employee now that they are pregnant they don't think they will be as reliable or efficient, or they simply aren't interested in covering the maternity leave that the woman is entitled to."

On Wednesday, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal awarded an Alberta teacher, Melanie Gilmar, more than $41,000 in lost wages and damages for pain and suffering and $25,000 for legal fees after ruling the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation Board of Education discriminated against her.

The tribunal found the school board devised criticism of Gilmar's performance, which did not appear to exist before she advised that she was pregnant, and gave her no consideration after her maternity leave for open positions that she was qualified for, according to the ruling.
Maciel, who now works as an events co-ordinator at a banquet hall, said she was "completely devastated" when she was told to pack her belongings and leave.

"This shouldn't happen to anybody else," Maciel said Thursday.
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