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Restaurant owner fired 20-year-old for rejecting his advances, then harassed her at her new place of work
Restaurant owner 'preyed' on vulnerability of young waitress
THE BRITISH COLUMBIA Human Rights Tribunal found Michel Biais' treatment of a former waitress at his restaurant both during and after her employment to be harassment.
Biais, 57, made sexually suggestive comments towards Mary Clarke, 20, right from her first interview and through her one-month stint as a waitress at his Vancouver restaurant, Frenchies Montreal Smoked Meats, in July 2005. Though his comments made Clarke uncomfortable, she usually didn't say anything because she was extremely shy.
One day, Biais asked her to sit on his lap and Clarke finally confronted him. Biais reacted angrily and soon after he fired Clarke for what he claimed was her failure to maintain a level of cleanliness in the restaurant.
After Clarke filed a sexual harassment complaint, Biais started coming into her new place of work, often glaring, pointing and laughing at her. She felt humiliated, frightened and nervous, going so far as to change her appearance.
The tribunal found Biais' conduct during Clarke's employment was an abuse of his power.
"Mr. Biais preyed on Ms. Clarke's vulnerability," the tribunal said. "He sought to exercise control over her and heighten her vulnerability."
It also ruled her firing was because of her reaction to his harassment, not a failure to do her job.
The tribunal also found Biais' behaviour after she filed the complaint was designed to scare her and was also harassment.
"Mr. Biais' conduct constituted a deliberate attempt to continue to intimidate Ms. Clarke, and was of a piece with his earlier retaliatory behaviour," the tribunal said.
Clarke was awared nearly $12,000 for injury to her dignity for both the harassment she experienced while working at Frenchies and Biais' continued harassment afterwards.
A former waitress at a Vancouver restaurant has been awarded nearly $12,000 after her boss sexually harassed her and then further harassed her after she quit and filed a complaint with the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal.
Mary Clarke, 20, worked at Frenchies Montreal Smoked Meats Ltd. in the summer of 2005. She was a shy person and her mother described her as having "an undiagnosed social anxiety condition."...