Atlantic Employers’ Counsel – Fall 2015
THE EDITORS’ CORNER
Trick, Treat or … Taunt? Workplace Bullying and Harassment
Fall has arrived! The leaves are changing colours, families are stockpiling Halloween candy (some of which will actually last long enough to be distributed on the 31st), and warm knitwear is being dragged back out of the closet. But what is happening at your workplace? Are all of your employees “playing nice” with each other or do you have some ghouls in the group?
BULLYING ISN’T JUST FOR KIDS ANYMORE: ACTUALLY, IT NEVER REALLY WAS…
The recognition that bullying occurs far beyond the playground is now so widespread that an entire episode of The Simpsons was dedicated to the topic earlier this year. However, despite the recognition of its occurrence, even the most seasoned human resources professionals often still shy away from dealing with serious interpersonal conflicts between coworkers or between superiors and subordinates.
WHEN HARASSMENT IS NOT HARASSMENT
Stephen Carpenter, CHRP and Patti Wheatley
There is more and more discussion today about harassment and bullying in the workplace. This has led to assertions of harassment and bullying in situations even where the claims are unwarranted. Discipline is one of the most frequent areas where we see claims of harassment from employees – employees claim that they are being harassed but managers feel they are simply doing their job.
TOP 10 CONSIDERATIONS FOR WORKPLACE (AND THEREABOUTS) SEXUAL MISCONDUCT
Over the past year Jian Ghomeshi went from being the “King of Spain” to eating “Humble Pie” (if you are too young/old to know what this is referring to, search Moxie Früvous). Whether it’s the CBC or Bill Cosby, issues of sexual misconduct have been dominating the headlines. Even off-duty conduct is up for scrutiny – consider the worker who yells “FHRITP” to a reporter during a live broadcast or heckles a female comedian off the stage during a work party.
FALSE/UNFOUNDED ALLEGATIONS: WHAT ABOUT THE UNSUBSTANTIATED COMPLAINTS?
As long as there are harassment and respectful workplace policies that provide employees an opportunity to file complaints against their fellow employees, there will be, periodically, false or unfounded allegations. Employers can put themselves in a better position to avoid the liability associated with such false or unfounded allegations if they abide by the following:
Archive
Richard Jordan Is a worker under a contract “of” service or contract “for” service? The former means a worker is an employee whereas the latter means a worker is an independent contractor. The answer to…
Read MoreKevin Landry and William Wojcik In September 2020 the Supreme Court of Canada heard Reference re Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, 2021 SCC 11, a case featuring appeals from Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Alberta with respect to…
Read MoreChristopher Marr, TEP and David Slipp Effective March 1, 2021 in all provinces of Canada, other than Ontario and Quebec (to be effective there on July 1, 2021), securities laws related to the distribution of…
Read MoreKevin Landry and Emily Murray On March 8, 2021, Health Canada released draft guidance on personal production of cannabis for medical purposes (“Guidance Document”). At present, the Guidance Document is being circulated for public comment for…
Read MoreJennifer Taylor The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia has finally provided clarity on the limitation period for third party claims, in Sears v Top O’ the Mountain Apartments Limited, 2021 NSSC 80. This is…
Read MoreBrendan Sheridan Canada has continually claimed to be one of the countries with the toughest COVID-19 related travel and quarantine requirements. In response to the new COVID-19 variants emerging in the UK and South Africa,…
Read MoreDante Manna As of today, Newfoundland and Labrador has joined several other jurisdictions with financial hardship unlocking provisions. While the new provisions do not allow direct unlocking from pension plans, and unlocking is not available…
Read MoreNancy Rubin, QC Nova Scotia has taken a big step forward in recognizing the tort of publication of private facts. The case, Racki v Racki, 2021 NSSC 46 comes hot on the heels of Ontario’s…
Read MoreKathleen Leighton Canada is committed to developing Francophone minority communities in the country (outside of Quebec). In furtherance of this goal, there are a number of immigration initiatives in place to attract French speakers. By…
Read MoreAndrew Burke and Divya Subramanian The year 2020 was nothing short of unusual. With COVID-19 impacting every aspect of business and life, shareholder meetings also transitioned to a virtual medium. For more on how the…
Read More