Fired pregnant woman wins human rights case
CBC News
Posted: Feb 7, 2012 11:18 AM ET
Last Updated: Feb 7, 2012 1:19 PM ET
Related
Alison MacKinnon with her daughter at the Human Rights Commission in December. (CBC)A woman who was fired from her job at a Charlottetown inn shortly after telling the management she was pregnant has won her case at the P.E.I. Human Rights Commission.
The Inn on the Hill has been ordered to pay compensation of $15,206.
Alison MacKinnon was hired at the Quality Inn on the Hill as an administration assistant and front desk worker in September 2010. The next month, she told her supervisor she was three months pregnant, and an hour after that she was called into an office and fired.
Roger and Tanya Bevan, managers at Inn on the Hill, testified during the hearing that MacKinnon was let go because they did not like her attitude and that she dressed inappropriately. They said they had discussed letting her go with other employees a week before she was fired.
Because she was still in the probationary period of her employment, they argued, they did not have to provide a reason for letting her go.
But the Human Rights Panel did not find this to be a reasonable position.
"They did not advise her of these concerns and indeed they failed to give her any opportunity to address them," panel chair Anne Nicholson wrote in the decision.
"The information that Ms MacKinnon was pregnant precipitated her immediate dismissal."
The panel also ordered that the Bevans accept human resources training, including an educational presentation on human rights.
Share Tools
Top News Headlines
- Kids from levelled Oklahoma schools recount deadly tornado

- Children from two Oklahoma schools levelled Monday by a powerful tornado are recounting what it was like to survive the "loud" and "scary" twister, while rescuers near the end of their search for any other remaining survivors or bodies.

more »
- Deadly Oklahoma tornado confirmed as most powerful type

- Emergency workers neared the end of their search Tuesday afternoon for survivors in Moore, Okla., following a deadly tornado that weather officials said was now classified among the most powerful type of twister. more »
- Senate debates expense audits amid greater scrutiny
- The expenses scandal dominated the first Senate session since the audits on senators Mike Duffy, Mac Harb and Patrick Brazeau were released and it was revealed Duffy's questionable expenses were repaid by a personal cheque from the prime minister's chief of staff. Follow our live blog. more »
- Only 1 set of human remains found at Millard farm, police say
- Hamilton police have confirmed that they are dealing with only a single set of human remains at the Waterloo region farm of Dellen Millard. more »
- Rob Ford faces more calls to address crack allegations
- Toronto Mayor Rob Ford went back to work after a holiday weekend, but he kept his mouth shut about an alleged video that two published reports say shows him smoking what appears to be a crack pipe. more »
Must Watch
Latest Health News Headlines
- Children driven around too much, Canadian report suggests
- Fewer Canadian kids are commuting by walking or biking as a new report reveals a marked decline among young people using active modes of transportation. more »
- Tunisia announces 3 cases of coronavirus including 1 death
- Tunisia's Health Ministry says a 66-year-old man has died after being infected by the new coronavirus following a visit to Saudi Arabia. more »
- Sleeping with parents always risky for infants, study suggests
- Sharing a bed with their parents increased the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in babies under three months old by at least a factor of five, even without any other risk factors, the largest ever analysis of individual cases suggests. more »
- Flu shot for health workers urged by Ont. medical officer
- Ontario's chief medical officer of health is renewing her push for health-care workers, particularly those in long-term care, to get their shots. more »
FEATURED HEALTH
- Deadly Oklahoma tornado confirmed as most powerful type
- Microsoft unveils Xbox One
- 'Very upset' Harper wants fast Senate spending reform
- Only 1 set of human remains found at Millard farm, police say
- Kids from levelled Oklahoma schools recount deadly tornado
- Rob Ford faces more calls to address crack allegations
- Mountie sues 13 ex-colleagues for sex assault, harassment
- Jodi Arias asks jury to spare her life
- Microsoft's Xbox revamp: Is the sun setting on game consoles?

