City of Nanaimo Fails to Overturn Former CFO’s $600K Discrimination Award

Nanaimo (City) v. Mema

The British Columbia (BC) Court of Appeal upheld a decision to provide the former CFO of the City of Nanaimo, Victor Mema, with more than $600,000 in damages for the race-based discrimination he experienced during and at the end of his employment.

What Your Need to Know

• Mema begins working for the City of Nanaimo in 2015 — primarily as the city’s CFO.
• Between 2016 and 2017, Mema incurs a large number of personal purchases on his corporate credit card. He doesn’t repay them in a timely manner.
• Staff bring their concerns to management and Mema is disciplined. His corporate credit card is suspended and he is put on a repayment plan.
• Following the incident, the city orders an external audit to examine employee use of corporate credit cards over the previous 10 years. The audit finds that many workers had used corporate credit cards for personal use, but they usually repaid the balances quickly.
• In Feb. 2018, city council decides to amend the policies and administration of corporate credit cards.
• Multiple employees aren’t satisfied with the changes and remain concerned that Mema poses a “larger financial risk to the city.”
• A staff member files a misconduct report against Mema with the city’s human resources (HR) department. The report is brought before city council.
• In April 2018, Mema is suspended and placed on administrative leave without pay pending an investigation into the allegations. Prior to his suspension, he wasn’t made aware of the misconduct report or the allegations.
• City council eventually decides to terminate Mema. The decision is based primarily on the allegations made in the misconduct report.
• The courts conclude that the misconduct report carried racial bias and influenced city council’s decisions — entitling him to more than $600,000 in damages.

Disclaimer: The materials above are provided as general information about the rights of non-unionized employees in British Columbia. It is not specific to any one company and SHOULD NOT be read as suggesting any improper conduct on the part of any specific employer, or a relationship between Samfiru Tumarkin LLP and a specific employer.