Board Decision in Pregnancy Complaint

A recent human rights board of inquiry that looked at discrimination and pregnancy in the workplace has ruled in favor of a Windsor Junction woman.

Terri Redden alleged that Atlantic Construction Management Services Ltd. and/or Navid Saberi discriminated against her by firing her from her job as a real estate assistant because she was pregnant and because she would have a child when she returned to work.

In the ruling, board chair Phil Girard found that Ms. Redden had been discriminated against because of her pregnancy and that Mr. Saberi failed to make efforts to accommodate her when her pregnancy made her less flexible with overtime work.

"With the entry of more women into the labour market public policy was faced with a choice," Mr. Girard wrote in his decision. "Either women could be forced to conform to the male breadwinner model...or changes to the male breadwinner model itself could be demanded, thus moving society more in the direction of substantive equality."

In ordering damages to Ms. Redden, the board considered that they should be high enough to encourage respect for legislative decisions that some types of discrimination are unacceptable. Mr. Girard also noted that there has been an upward trend in these damages in recent years. The board dismissed arguments that there had been unreasonable delay in the complaint reaching the hearing stage. The board also dismissed the complaint against Atlantic Construction Management Services Ltd., since the real employment relationship was between Mr. Saberi and Ms. Redden.

The board ordered the following remedy:

• $4,683.28 for lost wages and $4,000 for humiliation and loss of dignity, to carry simple interest at the rate of five per cent from June 1, 1996;
• Mr. Saberi to reimburse $1,572 in employment insurance benefits received by Ms. Redden;

The board also suggested that the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission ask real estate boards around the province how they are educating their members about their responsibilities under the Human Rights Act, and to work co-operatively with the boards to develop materials or programs as needed.

Boards of inquiry are appointed under the province's Human Rights Act and are the final stage in the human rights complaint process. Board orders can be appealed to the courts.