• First Reference
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • 24th Annual Ontario Employment Law Conference 📣
  • Blog Signup 📨

First Reference Talks

Discussions on Human Resources, Employment Law, Payroll and Internal Controls

  • Home
  • About
  • Archives
  • Resources
You are here: Home / Health and Safety / Why all the fuss about workplace bullying?

By Andrew Lawson | 2 Minutes Read January 12, 2010

Why all the fuss about workplace bullying?

rbc3_10.jpg
Image taken from: http://www.therecruiterslounge.com

In 1988 a man applied for Worker’s Compensation due to the stress of being teased, at work, about his appearance. His claim was denied. Almost 20 years later another man made a similar claim, a claim that was allowed; Worker’s comp paid up. Change was on the horizon.

In 1999 a man walked into his former place of employment in Ottawa and shot to death 4 coworkers, seriously injuring a fifth person.  He then killed himself. The killer had been teased by his coworkers because he spoke with a stutter.

A young woman was forced to quit her job as a senior claims adjudicator in 2000. A relative of her employer with whom she worked constantly harassed her, wrongly accused her of sabotaging company equipment and aggressively confronted her on several occasions. The woman successfully sued her former employer for constructive dismissal and was awarded damages for lost wages and for mental distress.

In 2009 the Ontario government passed new legislation requiring employers to proactively address the serious issue of harassment and violence in the workplace.

Bullying is finally against the law in Canada and that is what all the fuss is about. In the harassment case involving the young woman, above, the employee reported the bullying to her employer and the employer told her to avoid the bully. The bully was not disciplined. The new law finally requires employers to create a mechanism for employees to report bullying behaviour. Employees are also entitled under the new law to know how the employer will investigate allegations of workplace bullying.

Attend my presentation: “Protecting Your Organization from the Workplace Bully” HRPA 2010 Annual Conference & Trade Show, January 27, 2010, 3:00 p.m.  Also . . . visit me at booth 143 in the Trade Show

By Andrew Lawson, Human Rights Advisor, Learn Don’t Litigate
www.learndl.ca [email protected]

  • About
  • Latest Posts
Follow me
Andrew Lawson
Trainer and advisor at Learn Don't Litigate
Andrew Lawson is a human rights and health and safety trainer and advisor, currently consulting to both the federal and Ontario governments. Since 1996, he has conducted extensive legal research in the areas of human rights and occupational health and safety law. He has worked in the people management business for over 25 years.
Follow me
Latest posts by Andrew Lawson (see all)
  • Responding to a human rights complaint - September 5, 2012
  • Ontario policy on competing human rights - August 8, 2012
  • What does the case of Trayvon Martin tell us about racism in Canada? - April 4, 2012

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window)

Article by Andrew Lawson / Health and Safety / Bill 168, bully, bullying, canadian employment law, harassment, harassment policy, health and safety, human rights, policies and procedures, workplace violence

Get the Latest Posts in your Inbox for Free!

Electronic monitoring

About Andrew Lawson

Andrew Lawson is a human rights and health and safety trainer and advisor, currently consulting to both the federal and Ontario governments. Since 1996, he has conducted extensive legal research in the areas of human rights and occupational health and safety law. He has worked in the people management business for over 25 years.

Comments

  1. Andrew Lawson says

    January 19, 2010 at 7:09 pm

    Great question. The Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act defines a “worker” as someone who receives monetary compensation so a volunteer, strictly speaking, is not covered under this law. However volunteers may be protected by other legislation such as the Human Rights Code. The employer may also have common law obligations regarding the protection of anyone entering the workplace, including volunteers. The issue of coverage for volunteers is an important one. Please watch for future posts by me, and my colleagues, on this important topic.

  2. Yosie says

    January 19, 2010 at 7:07 pm

    You would have to look at each piece of health and safety legislation in each jurisdiction in Canada, namely occupational health and safety laws, and workers compensation laws.

    For example, in Ontario, under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, a worker is defined as “a person who performs work or supplies services for monetary compensation.” This definition does not include volunteers. However, employers still have OHS responsibilities for the health and safety of people visiting or helping out in their workplaces.

    In addtion, under the Workplace Safety & Insurance Act (WSIB), volunteers in most workplaces are not covered, however, some types of volunteers are covered such as volunteer firefighters.

    Hope this helps!

  3. Susan Trevers says

    January 19, 2010 at 9:27 am

    When a person is not paid for the work but volunteers his time to a non-profit organization, is this organization considered his employer for the purpose of Workplace Health and Safety laws?

About us

Established in 1995, First Reference is the leading publisher of up to date, practical and authoritative HR compliance and policy databases that are essential to ensure organizations meet their due diligence and duty of care requirements.

First Reference Talks

  • Home
  • About
  • Archives
  • Resources

Main Menu

  • About First Reference
  • Resources
  • Contact us
  • 1 800 750 8175

Stay Connected

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

We welcome your comments on our blog articles. However, we do not respond to specific legal questions in this space.
We do not provide any form of legal advice or legal opinion. Please consult a lawyer in your jurisdiction or try one of our products.


Copyright © 2009 - 2023 · First Reference Inc. · All Rights Reserved
Legal and Copyright Notices · Publisher's Disclaimer · Privacy Policy · Accessibility Policy