A leading commercial must pay one of its former employees $65 000 for constructively dismissing her after she had endured abuse that constituted sexual harassment nine years ago.
In a judgement handed down by Justice Kaye Goodridge in the Supreme Court last Friday, Margaret Wharton, a junior manager at the Bank of Nova Scotia, won a suit for constructive dismissal and was awarded $65 640.41 with interest at the rate of six per cent from the date of filing.
Wharton, who worked at the bank in various posts between 1976 and 2004, was represented by Vernon Smith, QC, and Lisa Greaves. She contended that in her final year of employment, after being promoted to district relationship officer, she was harassed repeatedly.
The harassment, in her evidence, included assistant manager Ervin Bowen attempting to place his hands on her jacket zipper while threatening to pull the zipper down between January and August 2004, facing repeated use of offensive language from branch manager Larry Kinch between January and September 2004 in the presence of others, and being told by Kinch that “the only thing that you are becoming famous for is being a thief”.
As a result, Wharton claimed, she wrote a resignation letter but was subsequently given a termination letter dated October 4, 2004, and a cheque, and told to leave immediately.
