A year after dental assistant Mieka Mandalari was fired for texting during a meeting, a Canadian agency has ordered the dentist who fired her to pay her $5,164 Canadian dollars.
Paula Winsor-Lee, DMD, a dentist from Lumby, British Columbia, cited the main reason for Mandalari’s firing was texting.
Despite a company policy that states texting can only be done if there is minimal disruption to work, Mandalari was texting under the table during a staff meeting.
According to DrBicuspid.com, Winsor-Lee had already address Mandalari’s texting with her on multiple occasions, which is why she was fired shortly after the meeting took place.
Mandalari filed her case with the Canadian Employment Standards Tribunal, which ruled that texting was not a serious enough offense to warrant immediate firing. A delegate of the tribunal also found that there was a potential issue concerning overtime and holiday pay, which violated Canada’s Employment Standards Act.
Winsor-Lee attempted to appeal the decision, but she lost. However, she still feels as if she did the right thing in firing Mandalari for violating her clearly outlined rule.
“I still do feel like I did follow what needed to be in place,” she told CBC in an interview. “I had stated in previous staff meetings: texting that is distracting from your job is not allowed.”
- Exit Interviews: Get it in Writing - October 30, 2019
- Vaping Possible Suspect in Wisconsin teens’ hospitalization - October 23, 2019
- What to Do About Negative Reviews Online - October 16, 2019