Employment Law

Interview Summary

Shortly after starting a position as an assistant, an employee at a communal office space and warehouse was sexually harassed by the company CEO. After repeated instances of inappropriate conduct, the employee decided to resign from her position and later filed a human rights complaint. The complaint alleged harassment, discrimination, a toxic work environment, and reprisal.

Mackenzie Irwin, a Toronto employment lawyer and Senior Associate at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP joined the HR Reporter’s Jeffrey Smith to discuss the resolution of this suit and employee rights regarding workplace harassment.

Interview Notes

• Spectrum of harassment: Irwin noted that the specific incidents the employee experienced mattered in determining the severity of sexual harassment. “Sexual touching would be a more egregious violation, but the [worker] wasn’t touched, even though the rest of the harassment happened,” said Irwin. “The worker mentioned that when she rejected the CEO, he accepted her rejection and didn’t force himself on her – it was interesting to see the tribunal say that this was a factor towards a lower award.”
• Human Rights Tribunal difficulties: Despite an initial error in the worker’s filing, they continued with the harassment complaints against the CEO personally. “The problem is that the tribunal is so backlogged and slow that it took four years to get to a hearing, so why would you want to take a step back and potentially restart the process with...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMivAFBVV95cUxPOG1fdzFpNWJpLVNuYXk2ZjN1...