Damages Ordered by Ministry of Labour to Dental Hygienist Within Five Months

J.P. Zubec of Shields & Hunt represented a dental hygienist who had been wrongfully dismissed during a maternity leave.

The Situation
Our client, who had been working for her employer for eight years, was dismissed shortly after returning from her maternity leave. Her employer argued that our client had voluntarily resigned her employment or, in the alternative, it had cause to terminate the employment contract because our client allegedly had a disruptive affect on the workplace, and her work performance was unacceptable.

The Result
A Complaint was filed with the Ministry of Labour at the end of June, 2006, the parties met and J.P. presented our client’s case to an Employment Standards Officer and a decision was rendered in September, 2006, wherein the employer was ordered to pay our client her regular wages and vacation pay during the period she was unemployed, 8 months salary and damages for emotional pain and suffering.

Mr. Zubec is an associate with Shields & Hunt. He specializes in civil litigation. He can be reached at (613) 230-3232, ext. 312 or jpzubec@shields-hunt.com.