PREFERENCE FOR MALE WORKER RULED DISCRIMINATORY

Released on August 5, 1999

The Court of Queen's Bench has upheld an independent human rights

board of inquiry award of $17,342 to a hardware clerk who said she was

denied full-time hours and eventually terminated because of her sex.



Holly Frechette was employed from June 1989 to September 1993 by

Namraw Lumber Ltd., a Kindersley lumber yard and hardware store.

Frechette worked primarily inside the store, stocking goods and

providing customer service. She also did occasional outside work,

helping customers place lumber and other materials in their vehicles

or helping them with rental tools or equipment.



Ralph Warman, a co-owner of the lumber yard, cut Frechette's hours in

August 1990. In 1992, he hired a male employee to perform essentially

the same duties as Frechette, but with somewhat more "yard work."

Even though the male employee had less seniority than Frechette,

Warman gave him full-time hours in March 1993. Warman terminated

Frechette in September 1993, telling her business was slow.



Frechette complained to the Human Rights Commission in December 1993

that Ralph Warman and Namraw Lumber Ltd. had discriminated against her

because of her sex, contrary to section 16 of the Saskatchewan Human

Rights Code. The commission referred the case to a formal hearing

before an independent board of inquiry appointed by the Minister of

Justice.



The board of inquiry found there was no evidence the male

employee was a better worker than Frechette. It found little

tangible evidence supporting Ralph Warman's many presumptions

that Frechette was unable to perform certain work and pointed out

that Warman never asked Frechette whether she could take on

additional duties. As well, the board noted that the duties

Warman claimed Frechette was unable to do made up a relatively

small part of her job.



The board also found that Warman remarked at the time of

Frechette's dismissal that the male employee, because of his

gender, was better qualified for yard work than a woman.



"An employer who denies a woman employment opportunities because

of an assumption that she cannot do work traditionally done by

men runs the risk of violating the Human Rights Code," said Donna

Scott, Chief Commissioner and Director of the Saskatchewan Human

Rights Commission.



The board awarded Frechette $15,342 as compensation for one

year's lost wages, and $2,000 as compensation for injury to

feelings.



Previously, Frechette made a successful equal pay complaint about

her employment at Namraw Lumber Ltd. to the Labour Standards

Branch. She alleged that her employer violated section 17 of the

Labour Standards Act by paying her $7 per hour but paying $10 per

hour to the male employee who eventually replaced her. As a

result of that complaint, Frechette was awarded compensation for

the difference in wages for the hours she actually worked.

Frechette's human rights complaint was based on whether she was

denied full-time hours and then laid off because of her gender.



Warman and Namraw Lumber Ltd. appealed the board of inquiry

decision under the Human Rights Code to the Court of Queen's

Bench. Mr. Justice Frank Gerein dismissed the appeal after

hearing arguments in early June.



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For further information contact:



Vera-Marie Wolfe, Acting Assistant Director

Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission

Saskatoon

Telephone: (306) 933-5952