Canadian Employment Law Today

March 5, 2014 4 Published by Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2014 $100,000 in human rights damages for restaurant workers 3 former Muslim workers were forced to eat pork, other food while fasting – owners also mocked their language, race | BY RONALD MINKEN | AN ONTARIO employer has been ordered to pay almost $100,000 to three former employees — who were Muslim and from Bangladesh — by the Ontario Hu- man Rights Tribunal. Three former employees of the Toron- to restaurant Le Papillon alleged various grounds of discrimination against their former employer, including race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, ethnic origin and creed. The tribunal's decision con- sisted of a fi nding that the restaurant had discriminated against the employees on various grounds of the Ontario Human Rights Code and awarded the employees a total of $98,592 in damages. Each of the three employees, Abdul Malik, Arif Hossain and Mohammed Is- lam, worked at Le Papillon at the same time in kitchen-based positions. They immigrated to Canada from Bangladesh, and each spoke Bengali as well as Eng- lish, though the tribunal noted Islam "has the least facility with the English language." Additionally, each of the em- ployees was an "adherent of Islam." Restaurant owner forced Muslim employees to eat pork In March 2010, the owner of the restau- rant approached Malik on two separate occasions and requested that he eat a pulled pork sandwich. Malik informed him that he could not eat pork as a re- sult of his religious beliefs and practices. The owner insisted Malik eat the pork sandwiches as he was employed as a chef. Malik refused. Despite Malik already refusing the owner's repeated request that he con- sume pork, and despite him justifying his refusal by explaining his religious beliefs and practices, in July 2010, the owner again requested that Malik eat pork and informed him it was his duty as a chef to try it. Malik was concerned about his future employment should he not consume the pork, so he ate it. Immediately thereaf- ter, he went to the washroom, vomited and began to cry. Malik testifi ed at the tribunal hearing that he felt very guilty that he had violated his religious beliefs. He could not sleep that night, he was very upset and felt he would "face pun- ishment" when he dies. In addition to requiring Malik to eat pork, the employer also required Islam to eat pork in 2010 while he was fast- ing in observation of the Muslim holiday Ramadan. When Islam explained to the owner that he was prohibited from eating pork due to his religion and he was fasting, the owner informed him that "if you make food, you have to taste it," as well as "if you are fasting you will be weak — you are coming here to work." Further, the owner required Hossain to taste some soup while he was fasting in observation of Ramadan in 2010. Hossain initially declined to taste the soup, but the owner repeated his request. Hossain was worried about being fi red and there- CASE IN POINT: HUMAN RIGHTS Continued on page 5 BACKGROUND BACKGROUND BY NOW, employers and other organizations should be well aware of human rights legislation and the grounds under which people are protected from discrimination. And yet there are still examples of employers who seem to either not be aware of those grounds or simply don't care. Regardless of the reason, employers often fi nd themselves in hot water over discriminatory practices. One Toronto restaurant found itself on the hook for a hefty sum of human rights damages for its often blatant discrimi- nation of three workers who originally came from Bangladesh. Employment lawyer Ronald Minken discusses the case and the lessons employers can glean from it. EMPLOYMENT LAW BLOG EMPLOYMENT LAW BLOG Canadian Employment Law Today invites you to check out its employment law blog, where editor Jeffrey R. Smith discusses recent cases and developments in employment law. The blog includes a tool for readers to offer their comments, so discussion is welcome and encouraged. The blog features discussion of topics such as workplace investigations, just cause for dismissal, second chances, and what makes a manager. You can view the blog at www. employmentlawtoday.com. The employee was worried about his employment, so he ate the pork, then went to the washroom where he vomited and cried.

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