Law Times

PAGE 10 Windsor law prof settles with university FOCUS BY HEATHER GARDINER Law Times U edly let seven older women go because they didn't fi t the "soc- cer mom" image its clients were looking for. Had the company not been H onesty may prove a challenge for a prod- uct demonstration company that alleg- withdrew her application to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario on Aug. 29 aſt er reaching a settlement with the university. Carasco launched a human rights complaint in 2010 aſt er she lost the can- didacy to become the law school' dean to Camille Cameron, who joined the faculty in January. Carasco claimed she wasn't handed the position because the search committee didn't want to hire a racial minority. As a result, she asked the tribunal to order the university to fi re s new niversity of Windsor law profes- sor Emily Carasco, who accused the law school of gender and racial discrimination, suddenly Cameron and appoint her instead. She also sought $60,000 in compensation. In her complaint, Carasco accused fellow law professor Richard Moon of discriminat- ing against her when he told the dean search committee that she had plagiarized parts of an immigration and refugee law casebook that she had co-authored. Carasco wanted Moon to publicly retract his allegations and sought $15,000 in damages. Th en late last month, aſt er fi ve days of hearings, the parties came to an agree- ment. Th e details of the settlement have not been released and Carasco declined to comment on the matter. In a statement, Holly Ward, spokes- woman for the University of Windsor, said: "Th e university has and will con- tinue to strive for the highest standards of human rights and equity. With respect to the specifi c application that was before HRTO, we will be making no further statements." Prior to the settlement, Carasco faced two days of cross-examination during which Raj Anand, counsel for the Univer- sity of Windsor, and Freya Kristjanson, Moon' of unattributed passages in her work. Carasco maintained that it shouldn't s lawyer, presented multiple examples be considered plagiarism because she didn't intentionally try to pass off another author' co told the tribunal: "Carelessness I would plead guilty to. An attempt to deceive or appropriate . . . no. According to the Windsor Star, Caras- s ideas as her own. Th e Star reported that Mary Eberts, Carasco's lawyer, argued that Carasco " would have been hired if she hadn't been accused of plagiarizing. "Th e plagiarism allegations unsettled or dispersed some of the support she would have had despite her minority status. Th e people who were against her candidacy — because they did not want her signature and methodology in the law faculty — were able to dominate the process." Anand defended the faculty of any wrongdoing, according to the Windsor newspaper. "You have far-fetched allegations and no facts from which to infer discrimina- tory factors were at play. Nowhere in any of the massive fi lings will you fi nd any evidence of any action from any of the committee members that suggest they were adverse to racial minorities." LT Complaint filed over 'blatant' age discrimination BY KENNETH JACKSON For Law Times employers were a little bit more honest with them than a number of employers are, up front in a particular e-mail to Lone Th ompson, 64, she and the six other women who have fi led a complaint with the Hu- man Rights Tribunal of Ontario may not have a strong case for age discrimination, says Toronto employment lawyer Hermie Abraham. "I actually think, in a way, they are fortunate because their quirement that these particular women are not the right type of fi t, then yes, they probably would have a strong case for age dis- crimination because they were doing well in sales, in terms of customer service or in their abil- ity to reach out to clients." Th ompson had worked for "If it's just a marketing re- " says Abraham. InStore Focus for 15 years doing product demonstrations in vari- ous grocery stores such as Metro, Zellers, and Zehrs. Problems started last Septem- ber when Th ompson learned her employment with InStore Focus was ending because she no longer "fi t the profi le" desired by clients of younger women of child-rearing age, according to the complaint fi led with the help of the Human Rights Legal Support Centre. Th ompson the n spoke to her supervisor. She recalls the super- visor saying something along the lines of "the company is now profi ling and looking for soccer moms, you don't fi t that profi le. Th e supervisor allegedly told " Th ompson that Metro grocery stores was behind the request for a change. Th ompson then e-mailed the supervisor for fur- ther information. Th ompson wanted to know Aſt er 15 years, you just get discarded," she said in a release what she had meant by the term "soccer moms." In an e-mail sent on Sept. 22, 2011, the supervisor allegedly replied: "Basically the mandate for Metro is their 'target market' so if the client is targeting a cereal for instance for children, fi rmed when I learned that at least six other women over 60 were told there were no more hours." Beth Walden, a lawyer with the they want someone who repre- sents the 'Mom' who does most of the shopping for those kids. Th is takes eff ect Oct 1 however there wasn't anything for you this week which is why you don't have any- thing this week." Th ompson was shocked. " issued by the legal support cen- tre recently. "My worst fears were con- Ontario's Human Rights Code " protects workers from being fi red or not getting a job because of age. e-mail, Th ompson went into the Metro store where she had been the lead demonstrator and spoke with the manager to tell him what had happened. He reportedly said he wasn't None of the allegations have been proven at the tribunal. Aſt er receiving the supervisor' s aware of any policy from Metro. Th e manager said he had been happy with Th ompson's legal support centre, is represent- ing the seven applicants but wasn't available for comment. In the news release, she said: "Th is is one of the more blatant cases of age discrimination we have handled. work, according to the claim. It was soon aſt er this conver- sation that the women lost their jobs. According to the legal sup- September 10, 2012 • Law timeS CITED BY THE SUPREME COURT OF CANADA CANADIAN EMPLOYMENT LAW STACEY REGINALD BALL "The most comprehensive text on employment law in Canada. 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But it allegedly posted a number of va- cancies for positions soon aſt er. Th ompson learned of this when she saw a woman who had replaced her at Metro. Th e supervisor had report- edly instructed the new em- ployee to tell anyone who may have a problem to contact someone at Metro. Th ompson did just that but never got a response. But she did receive a reply from Marie Doug- las at InStore Focus. "Th is downturn has caused disruption to our business as we knew it and has caused us great distress as we implemented in- ternal layoff s and in some cases redundancies," the complaint quotes the e-mail as saying. Th e e-mail further stated that Th ompson' has only to do with limited dem- onstration opportunities." Th ompson then found the job ads when she searched local job banks. Th e complaint claims the s "lack of assignments situation leſt Th ompson feeling self-conscious about her age and concerned about fi nding further employment because of it. Th ompson said she felt be- LT trayed and now refuses to enter Metro stores due to humiliation and embarrassment. 12-07-05 11:39 AM

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