The story of Jordan Wimmer, which we initially reported last week, continues. In Today's Toronto Star story, Millionaire hedge fund boss, Mark Lowe, responds to Wimmer's allegations as "gross distortions" and "hugely offensive."
But under examination by Wimmer's lawyer, Lowe was forced to explain a series of "joke" emails that he forwarded around the office to employees, including Wimmer.
One email, entitled "Who is your real friend?" read: "Put your dog and your girlfriend in the boot (trunk) of your car for an hour and then see who is happy to see you."
Lowe admitted to the tribunal he had openly called Wimmer a "dumb blond" and referred to her as "decorative."
But he insisted: "It was said entirely as a joke. It was never intended as an insult."
In Canada, employees would make a complaint to a human rights tribunal or a claim of constructive dismissal through the courts.
Damages for cases such as this would be assessed based on how long it would or should have taken Wimmer to find reasonably comparable work and whether she suffered any compensable mental distress.
The Supreme Court of Canada recently rules on mental distress cases in the workplace in the Keays case, finding that the amount of damages should be consistent with an employees actual losses. An example would be where the employee has taken longer to find other work that she normally would have.
Daniel A. Lublin is a partner with the employment law firm Whitten & Lublin LLP, which provides employees and employers with human resources advise and wrongful dismissal advocacy. Reach Daniel at dan@toronto-employmentlawyer.com
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