Two former female employees of the Alcan Motor Inn Restaurant and Lounge in Haines Junction have filed human rights complaints against their former boss, Sid Quenneville, for sexual harassment.

The names of the complainants are under a publication ban because both women were underage when the alleged harassment took place.

Both complainants provided testimony Tuesday before a Yukon Human Rights Board of Adjudication in Whitehorse. They were accompanied by Colleen Harrington, lawyer for the Yukon Human Rights Commission.

Quenneville was not present for the tribunal. He has not provided an explanation for his absence, according to Deana Lemke, the board's secretariat.

During her testimony, the first complainant explained she began working at the Alcan Motor Inn in April 2011. It was her first job, and she was hired as a server and cashier.

Working at the restaurant was "fun when Sid wasn't there,” the complainant explained, "because you didn't feel uncomfortable.

"You'd always feel his eyes on you,” she told the board.

The complainant explained that there were times when Quenneville would be talking to her and she could see him "checking her out.”

She testified that Quenneville had spread rumours about a relationship between her and one of the cooks.

The young woman told the board her breaking point came May 28, a Sunday, when she was in the kitchen talking to one of the cooks, and Quenneville came over and poked her in the ribs.

The cook said at least he wasn't like their former boss "grabbing a handful of ass,” the complainant testified.

Quenneville then grabbed her bum, she testified, and told her it was now wet because he had been doing dishes.

"I felt degraded,” she told the board.

The complainant did not raise the incident with Quenneville nor the owner because she was afraid to lose her job.

She went into work the following Tuesday in the morning; it was only herself and Quenneville on shift.

Quenneville explained the new schedule to her, but was standing too close for comfort, making her feel extremely uncomfortable, she testified.

Following that conversation, she returned to the cashier station. Feeling unnerved, she called her mom to pick her up.

That morning, she and her mom went to the RCMP to file a complaint. The police, she said, never followed up with her.

Since her experience at the Alcan Motor Inn, the complainant said, she's been socially awkward at her new job.

She also feels uncomfortable around male employees even though she knows they wouldn't do what Quenneville did to her, she told the board members.

She also testified that she suffered a financial impact during the summer of 2011 because she was unable to secure another full-time job.

The second complainant had worked previously at the Alcan Motor Inn during the summer of 2010 as a dishwasher, and returned for the summer of 2011.

The second complainant also testified that Quenneville made her feel uncomfortable at work.

"There's just something off about him,” she testified. "Just the way he looks at people.”

She told the board that she caught Quenneville staring at her multiple times while she was washing dishes.

But the key incident occurred towards the end of May, when she was doing dishes and Quenneville allegedly kicked her in the bum twice.

It felt weird and wrong, she told the board.

One of the cooks who was in the kitchen when this happened urged her to approach the owner.

The complainant did, but said the owner brushed the incident aside, suggesting Quenneville was trying to get her to work harder.

Following that incident, the complainant testified that Quenneville poked her in the lower back a few times, even though she told him not to do it again after the first time.

About a week after she quit, she told her grandmother about the incidents, and her grandmother went to the police.

The second complainant explained that her experience at the motor inn affected her in many ways. She stopping trying to find another job and stopped wanting to go out, scared it would happen again.

But this process has helped her sort through those issues, she said, and she is on the job hunt again.

The commission was unable to reach the cook who was present for both incidents to bring him forward as a witness. He has since relocated to Manitoba, and cannot be summoned because he no longer resides in the territory.

On Friday the commission will come before the board for closing statements. At that time, Harrington will ask for a specific remedy for the complainants.