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Woman fired after cancer diagnosis gets $20,000

Employer ordered to pay damages and learn about Ontario's Human Rights Code.

Toronto (15 July 2010) - The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has awarded $20,000 in damages to a woman who was fired after telling her employer that she had breast cancer.

Elsa Torrejon was working as a leasing agent for Weston Property Management Corporation when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in January of 2009.

The employee disclosed her illness to the company and advised that she needed to take an indefinite leave of absence to receive treatment. Weston said Torrejon had offered to resign in light of her diagnosis.

She denied the company's version of events and the tribunal accepted her account of the facts. It noted that the company believed it was within its rights to terminate an employee requiring time off for surgery and treatment.

Weston was ordered to pay Torrejon $20,000 in damages and lost wages. The company is also required to learn about Ontario's Human Rights Code.

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