Montreal Restaurant Hostess Fired Over Braids? Human Rights Commission Investigates

Quebec's Human Rights Commission has taken up the case of a 20-year-old woman who says she was fired by fast-casual chain Madisons New York Grill & Bar because she came to work with braided hair. "We don’t want that kind of look here at the restaurant," the manager of the downtown Montreal restaurant apparently told Lettia McNickle in front of her co-workers last March. The hostess's hours were cut after the alleged incident. After the media reported the story, Madisons issued an apology, but subsequently cancelled mediation with McNickle last month.

Global News now reports that Quebec's Human Rights Commission has "launched an investigation, and the complaint was recently amended to target both Madisons’ head office and McNickle’s former boss." The restaurant has so far refused comment. The Centre for Research Action on Race Relations (CRARR), which has led the case with an emboldened McNickle, told Global News that it could take two years to resolve. Madisons is owned by Stanley Ma's powerful MTY Food Group.