workplace harassment

Unfair Investigation? No Comment.

January 15, 2020 Rubin Thomlinson LLP Employee Relations, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Training and Development, 0

We are now in a world where workplace harassment is taken much more seriously than it was before. Although some jurisdictions in Canada do not have an explicit legal obligation to investigate incidents of this nature, there is now a pressing moral obligation to do so. But when such a moral obligation is unmoored from legal principles or government-issued guidelines, there is a greater risk of unfairness to all parties. An investigation in this context is more likely to be guided by an emotional drive to either undermine those who raise complaints or persecute those who are alleged to have behaved badly, rather than arriving at factual findings from a neutral perspective using a fair investigation process.

employment law, external investigator, workplace complaints, workplace harassment, workplace investigations

Three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk

July 18, 2019 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Training and Development, 0

The three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk deal with managing disabilities in the workplace, workplace harassment and the decline of quality full-time work in Canada.

disability in the workplace, disabled employees, duty to accommodate, employment law, unemployment rate, workplace harassment

Three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk

May 9, 2019 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Payroll, Training and Development, Wages and Compensation, 0

The three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk deal with changes to employment standards in British Columbia, a class action lawsuit against RBC/Aviva and proposed workplace harassment and violence prevention regulations.

class action lawsuit, employment law, RBC/Aviva, workplace harassment

What’s love got to do with it? Managing office romances

February 12, 2019 Piccolo Heath LLP Employee Relations, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources

Happy stories of office relationships are not the ones that give Human Resource managers pause or make employment lawyers nervous. Instead, it’s the remaining portion of office romances that pose potential issues and liability for the employer, and the employees.

sexual harassment, workplace harassment, workplace relationships

(Don’t) Google it: practical lessons from the global walkout by Google’s employees

November 21, 2018 Piccolo Heath LLP Employee Relations, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Training and Development

On November 1, 2018, thousands of Google employees from around the world – including in Canada – engaged in a coordinated walkout, leaving their respective offices to protest workplace harassment and inequality at the company.

#MeToo movement, employment law, sexual harassment, social climate, walkout, workplace harassment, workplace sexual harassment and violence

How are employers affected by Alberta’s increased protections against sexual and domestic violence?

November 12, 2018 Occasional Contributors Employee Relations, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources

In protecting themselves against future liability, employers may find themselves stepping in line with the government, paving the way towards creating safe and respectful work environments within which employees’ conduct is held to a higher standard.

domestic violence, employment law, sexual abuse, sexual and domestic violence, sexual harassment, workplace harassment

Record human rights damage award for injury to dignity, feelings and self-respect: AB v Joe Singer Shoes Limited

September 26, 2018 De Bousquet PC Barristers and Solicitors Employee Relations, Human Resources, Human Rights, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll

The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario has awarded a record $200,000 as a human rights damage award in the case of AB v Joe Singer Shoes Limited, where the employee suffered injury to dignity, feelings and self-respect resulting from repeated sexual assault and harassment.

employment law, human rights damage award, sexual assault, sexual harassment, workplace harassment

When should an employer conduct a workplace investigation?

September 21, 2018 Jeff Dutton, Dutton Employment Law Employee Relations, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Training and Development

Under the common law, and specifically under Sections 25(2)(h) and 32.0.5 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (Ontario), every employer has a duty to conduct a workplace investigation after an incident of workplace violence has allegedly occurred. In other words, if an employer gets a complaint about violence at work, or if the employer witnesses violence at work, it must conduct an investigation.

complaints of harassment, complaints of incidents of violence, employment law, harassment at work, sexual harassment, violence at work, violence in the workplace, witnesses to the incident, workplace harassment, workplace investigation, workplace violence

Q&A: Who may be hired as a third party investigator to deal with workplace harassment complaints?

August 2, 2018 Ava Z Moradi, JD Employee Relations, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll

Is there any legislation that dictates who may or may not be hired as a third party investigator?

employment law, harassment, sexual harassment, third-party investigator, workplace harassment

Q&A: When is an employer’s duty to investigate workplace harassment triggered?

July 19, 2018 Ava Z Moradi, JD Employee Relations, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources

In this conference Q&A, we address when an employer’s duty to investigate workplace harassment is triggered. In partnership with Stringer LLP, First Reference Inc. recently hosted the 19th Annual Employment Law Conference on June 12, 2018, where we discussed the latest legal developments including issues surrounding workplace harassment. We received a large number of questions […]

duty to investigate workplace harassment, employment law, sexual harassment in the workplace, workplace harassment, workplace investigation

Requirements for conducting a workplace harassment investigation: lessons from the Green Party

May 16, 2018 Vey Willetts LLP Employee Relations, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Human Rights

Any allegation of harassment in the workplace needs to be taken seriously. Not the least of which, employers should be mindful of the statutory duty to conduct a related investigation.

Conflict resolution, constructive dismissal, Due diligence, employment law, workplace harassment, workplace harassment investigation

Workplace investigation alert: BC case shows how employers should NOT handle workplace harassment

April 25, 2018 Rubin Thomlinson LLP Human Resources, Human Rights, Penalties and Fines

A recent case from British Columbia, Wells v. Langley Senior Resources Society, is a useful example of how an employer should not handle workplace harassment.

chronic mental stress, employment law, harassment, mental stress, prohibited grounds of discrimination, stress-related illness, workplace harassment, workplace harassment policy

2018 will be a pivotal year for employers and HR managers in Ontario – #LearnTheLatest

April 20, 2018 Adam Gorley Accessibility Standards, Announcements and Administration, Conferences, Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Standard for Employment, Standard for the Built Environment, Training and Development, Union Relations

Learn the Latest at the Ontario Employment Law Conference

With most of the amendments of Bill 148 now in effect—along with significant updates to OHS and WCB provisions, the upcoming legalization of recreational marijuana, and more on the way—there are many substantial changes employers in Ontario have to deal with now and throughout 2018.

19th Ontario Employment Law Conference, 2018 Ontario Employment Law Conference, AODA, Bill 148, cannabis in the workplace, Cannabis legalization, Conference, Duty of care, employment and labour law, employment law, employment standards, HR conference, HR policies, HRlaw conference, Learn the latest, medical marijuana, OH&S, recreational cannabis, recreational marijuana, Stringer LLP, terminations, workplace harassment, WSIAT, wsib

Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario: the “Code” matters, not social norms

March 26, 2018 Kevin Sambrano, Sambrano Legal Services Human Resources, Human Rights

Although there may be social norms at play, a business owner would do well to continue to update and implement workplace and human rights policies on an ongoing basis, otherwise, they may be liable for any breach of the “Code”, whether intended or otherwise.

discrimination, employment law, George v. 1735475 Ontario Limited, harrassment, hrto, human rights applications, human rights code, Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, Kevin Sambrano, Ministry of Labour, nigglet, personal respondent, poisoned work environments, social norms, workplace harassment

Three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk

March 15, 2018 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits

The three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk deal with marijuana in the workplace, proposed parental leave benefit and workplace harassment as a WSIB claim.

Dismissal, dismissal cases, EI benefits, employment law, marijuana, marijuana in the workplace, parental leave, parental leave benefits, workplace harassment, wsib