Worker claimed employer 'took away' remaining annual paid vacation when she became pregnant and went on maternity/parental leave
The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal has dismissed a complaint by a City of Surrey employee who alleged sex discrimination after her vacation pay was reduced during maternity and parental leaves.
In Salmond v. City of Surrey,Tribunal Member Jonathan Chapnick found that while the City’s approach to paid vacation reduced the complainant’s paid time off in years when she was on leave, the municipality was “reasonably certain to establish a justification defence” and the complaint had “no reasonable prospect of success.”
The non‑union “exempt” employee who has worked for the City since 2015 alleged that on both occasions when she became pregnant and went on maternity/parental leave, the City “took away” her remaining annual paid vacation, did not pay it out, and did not allow her to accrue additional paid vacation while on leave. She argued that her “vacation entitlement was … adversely impacted” and that this would not have happened “but for [her] pregnancies.”
The City denied discrimination and applied to have the complaint dismissed without a hearing under s. 27(1)(c) of the Human Rights Code, which allows the Tribunal to dismiss complaints that have no reasonable prospect of success. The City admitted that it prorated the paid portion of the worker’s annual vacation in the calendar years when she was on leave, but said it was following its...
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