Restaurant employee awarded damages after resigning due to a racially poisoned work environment.
The complainant, a woman of Chinese ancestry, alleged that she was denied a promotion to a front-of-house restaurant position because of her race, and that she was subjected to a racially poisoned work environment.
The Board of Inquiry found that the failure to promote her was based on legitimate economic reasons, as she was an excellent baker and hard to replace.
However, the Board found that the workplace was tainted by frequent racial slurs from supervisory staff, which the general manager failed to adequately address.
The Board concluded that this poisoned atmosphere constituted indirect discrimination and contributed to the complainant's resignation.
The corporate respondent and the general manager were ordered to pay damages for lost wages and interest, and the corporate respondent was ordered to implement remedial measures including a staff seminar on human rights.
Lee v. T.J. Applebee's Food Conglomeration, 1987 CanLII 8496
