Hiring Discrimination: A Female Truck Driver Wins Her Case
Montréal,February 21, 2011 — Following a complaint before the Commissiondes droitsde la personne et des droits de la jeunesse, the Québec Human Rights Tribunalhas ordered a Montreal-area trucking company to pay $10,000 to a female truckdriver who was a victim of hiring discrimination.
InFebruary 2008, the woman filed a complaint with the Commission when the ownerof of Laurentian Shavings Products Inc. and Lanjay Peat Moss Inc., BernardWolinsky, refused to consider her candidacy for a truck driver’ job.
Accordingto the evidence of the Tribunal, he told her: “We don’t take women here. It’svery difficult for a woman to remove the snow from the roof of the trailers.” Moreoverhe told a Commission investigator who notified him of the complaint: “I don’t hirewomen, it is my prerogative.”
Inits ruling, the Tribunal found that the Commission put forward preponderantevidence that Mr. Wolinsky had refused to consider the complainant’sapplication because she was a woman and that her right to be treated withequality and dignity had been compromised. She was awarded $7,000 in moraldamages and $3,000 in punitive damages.
Answeringa classified advertisement, the woman, who was collecting employment insuranceat the time, went to the companies’ Carignan office to drop off her curriculumvitae. As she was shown into Mr. Wolinsky’s office, he told her that he didn’thire women and did not interview her. The complainant had obtained her Class 1driver’s permit in 2003 and had five years experience working part-time for anumber of transportation agencies.
Thepresident of the Commission Gaétan Cousineau said that, 52 files of sexdiscrimination were opened in 2009-2010 of which 35 related to employment andseveral involved women’s access to non-traditional jobs. He added that theCommission has also turned to the courts in cases of systemic discriminationinvolving the hiring of women in non-traditional positions.
-30-
Contact :
Patricia Poirier
(514)873-5146 or 1 800 361-6477 ext. 358
patricia.poirier@cdpdj.qc.ca
