The lawyer for Arigato Sushi Aberdeen's owner called her claims "ludicrous" and "without any merit."

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A temporary worker from the Philippines is taking her former Kamloops employer to court, claiming she was underpaid and pressured to abort her child.

Jessa Banih Tindaan said she was told by the owners of Arigato Sushi Aberdeen to either get an abortion, quit or go back to the Philippines, according to a claim she filed in BC Supreme Court on July 19.

Tindaan said she came to Kamloops on Jan. 20 from the Philippines as a temporary foreign worker after signing a contract with the restaurant just a week earlier.

She started work at the sushi restaurant on Jan. 24, only to discover she was pregnant on Feb. 1, she said. Tindaan said she told the owner Byung Mu Yu on Feb. 15.

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"I don't know if I will congratulate you, but I am disappointed. If you get an abortion, maybe after a week or two, you can return to work, but my wife and I will talk about this matter," he told her, according to Tindaan's claim.

Tindaan continued to work at the sushi restaurant until April 26, two weeks after she had a meeting with the owner. She said she was "pressured" to get an abortion, then had her work hours reduced from 40 per week to 20, which she claims was a constructive dismissal.

"The allegations are absolutely ludicrous, without any merit, and false," Yu's lawyer Puneet Tiwari said in an email to iNFOnews.ca.

Yu, who owns the Arigato Sushi Aberdeen location, denies all of Tindaan's allegations and aims to have the court strike "significant portions" of her claim, according to a response in court.

"My client is prepared to vigorously defend itself in the litigation," Tiwari said.

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Tindaan's claim wasn't restricted to the alleged pressure to get an abortion, however. She also claims she initially agreed to $18 per hour, but was only paid $15.60 when she arrived in Canada. The remaining $2.50, she said, was withheld by the owner.

A second defendant in the claim, Canada Nest Immigration Consulting Ltd., is an agency that connected Tindaan with Arigato Sushi to arrange her immigration.

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It requested she pay a $1,000 "labour market impact assessment" fee, which should have been Arigato Sushi's responsibility when arranging for a temporary foreign worker, according to her claim.

The immigration agency did not respond to a request for comment, but did respond in court. It said the allegations are "frivolous and groundless and must be dismissed."

Tindaan said both defendants should pay for damages, loss of earnings, healthcare costs and costs.

None of her claims have been proven in court.

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