‘The employer has to investigate, and if they don't investigate, they violate their obligations,’ says lawyer discussing common employer misconceptions

A recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision has reaffirmed that employers have a duty to investigate incidents of workplace harassment, even if no formal complaint is made, and even if the conduct occurs off-duty.

The case, Metrolinx v. Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1587, 2025 ONCA 415, involved the dismissal of five Metrolinx employees for sexual harassment after derogatory comments about a female coworker were made in a private WhatsApp group.

The workers’ union Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1587, grieved the dismissals; the arbitrator ordered reinstatement, but the courts ultimately found the arbitrator’s reasoning flawed and remitted the matter for reconsideration.

As the court stated, “Metrolinx was statutorily obligated to investigate the incident even in the absence of a complaint” and “off-duty conduct can give rise to discipline if it manifests in the workplace as it did in this case."

Duty to investigate: lower bar than many expect

According to Stuart Rudner, employment lawyer and mediator at Rudner Law in Toronto, the Metrolinx decision underscores that the threshold for triggering a workplace harassment investigation is lower than many employers realize.

“The word ‘harassment’ or ‘bullying’… you don't have to say the magic words,” he says.

“If there are rumours, whispers, comments, if there's some reason to...

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