Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Court Rules For Jewish Hairdresser Fired By Jewish Boss For Working On Shabbat

MONTREAL (JTA) — A Jewish hairdresser who got fired for refusing — against the orders of his Jewish boss — to take Shabbat off was awarded nearly $10,000 by a Quebec court for having his religious rights violated.

The Quebec Human Rights Tribunal on Thursday ordered the payment by former salon owner Iris Grassy two years after she failed to compensate hairstylist Richard Zilberg, $15,000 in damages recommended by the Quebec Human Rights Commission. The Commission has the power to recommend but not order damage awards.

“After five years, I finally obtained justice,” Zilberg said following the ruling.

“This judgment is a reminder that an employer cannot impose different working conditions on an employee on the basis of his or her religion,” Commission President Tamara Thermitus said in a statement on Thursday.

Zilberg had worked for the salon since 2011 and Saturday was usually its busiest day, but Grassy told Zilberg in 2012 to stop coming in on Saturdays. He refused and was fired.

The ruling may be only a moral victory for Zilberg, according to Fo Niemi, executive director of the Centre for Research-Action on Race Relations, which helped Zilberg in his initial complaint, since he might have to seek execution of the ruling by requesting a seizure of Grassy’s assets.

“When I as a Jew am discriminated against by another Jew, to the point of losing my job, income and dignity, that is something intolerable,” Zilberg said two years ago following the recommendation of the Quebec Human Rights Commission. “I come from a long line of Jewish people and I love my faith, but it is 2015 and I can choose how I want to practice.”

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.