'If you don't show up you are fired': Text exchange costs owner $15,000
A small Ontario restaurant violated human rights law when its owner terminated a server with cerebral palsy after she requested time off for a medical appointment, according to a Nov. 6, 2025 decision by vice-chair Cyndee Todgham Cherniak of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.
Michelle Tompkins, who worked part-time at Peninsula Grill in Georgian Bluffs, was fired in May 2018 following a text message exchange with owner Denis Davis about attending a scheduled doctor's visit.
The tribunal awarded Tompkins $15,000 in compensation for injury to dignity, feelings and self-respect, plus $407.68 for lost wages.
Worker disclosed disability at hiring
Tompkins disclosed her cerebral palsy during her February 2018 job interview, explaining she could only work 25-30 hours bi-weekly due to pain and stiffness. The restaurant initially agreed to these limitations and hired her as a server.
On May 28, 2018, Tompkins texted to inform the restaurant she had a medical appointment on May 30 and had arranged shift coverage. Davis responded, "If you don't show up you are fired."
When Tompkins referenced her medical appointment, Davis texted back, "Yes I can fire you for any reason u haven't been there 3 months not only that u originally had wed off don't take me for a fool. Besides you were the next person to be fired anyway with your work attitude with customers."
Scheduling beyond stated limitations
The tribunal found the restaurant scheduled Tompkins beyond her stated limitations on two occasions. During one two-week period in late April, she worked 56.5 hours—nearly double her maximum capacity.
When Tompkins asked Davis to reduce her hours, he allegedly told her she "should be working 100 hours per week" and to "shut up and go away." The tribunal accepted this testimony as credible.
The decision noted, "When Mr. Davis told Ms. Tompkins that she would be fired if she failed to show up for her shift in order to go to her medical appointment, the respondents violated the Code."
Tribunal awards damages for discrimination
The restaurant had no formal accommodation plan despite Tompkins's initial disclosure. The tribunal found the employer failed to accommodate her disability when scheduling her outside agreed limitations and when refusing to permit the shift change for medical care.
Vice-chair Todgham Cherniak wrote, "I find that her disability was a factor in her not being permitted to change a shift to attend a medical appointment and in her being fired."
The tribunal concluded, "In my view, it is serious that the respondents put Ms. Tompkins in a position where she had to choose between her continued employment and her health and wellbeing."
The tribunal awarded Tompkins $15,000 in compensation for injury to dignity, feelings and self-respect, plus $407.68 for lost wages. The restaurant owner did not participate in the proceedings and was noted in default.
