A Concordia student and former employee has filed a complaint with the Quebec Human Rights Commission after she says she was harassed while working on campus.
In her complaint, the woman blames the university for not protecting her from the near-daily harassment of a coworker and for firing her when she reported the problem.
The woman, who wants to remain anonymous because she still is a student at Concordia University, is seeking $45,000 in moral and punitive damages for what she describes as months of anxiety and loss of income.
The issue began last fall at the university's on-campus retail store, where she had been working for two and a half years.
A new male employee started working there and she claims that in the following months she was subjected to comments about her body, questions about her sex life, and harassment ending with this coworker eventually throwing something at her.
The woman said she didn't know what to do or who to turn to, causing her a lot of stress. She began to experience anxiety attacks.
When she approached a supervisor to complain about what happened, she was disappointed with the reaction.
“We had a meeting, my boss and I, and so I explained to her the stories that happened to me, and then at the end of the conversation she says, ‘Well, I don't want you working in a stressful environment. I'm going to let you go,’” she said, adding, “It was never a stressful environment for me, up until that semester. I loved my job.”
Concordia University declined to comment on the case because it's currently before the Quebec Human Rights Commission, however, it claims that it does have resources for employees who are experiencing difficulties at work,. The institution said employees may also file a complaint with Concordia's Office of Rights and Responsibilities, who will investigate.
Concordia also said it offers training for work issues to its managers – however, the training is not mandatory.
That’s the problem, said Fo Niemi, director of the Centre for Research-Action on Race Relations. Over the last few years, the school has dealt with similar cases involving Concordia University, and Niemi said perhaps it's time that training becomes mandatory.
“The employer has perhaps to review the policy, to make sure the managers have their proper instructions, understand the liability and eventually, all the employees are inferred of their rights and recourses so the situation will not be allowed to fester to the point when one has to drop out or be terminated with so much material and moral conscience,” he said.
