Harassment Archives - Page 9 of 13

Looking in the mirror: Harassment in legal workplaces

June 14, 2019 | By Elizabeth Bingham

Whether advocating for a client before the Human Rights Tribunal, drafting a Respect at Work Policy or assisting a client with engaging a workplace investigator, many lawyers are familiar with providing advice about harassment at work, but how many of us have thought about harassment in our own workplaces?

The Law Society of Ontario’s Discrimination and Harassment Counsel (“DHC”), an organization whose mandate includes providing services to people who have concerns or complaints about discrimination or harassment by lawyers and paralegals, shed light on this topic in its most recent report.

Believing women while remaining neutral: Conducting sexual harassment and sexual violence investigations in a post-#MeToo world

June 10, 2019

In the last two years, “I believe women” has become a frequent comment in discussions about sexual harassment and sexual violence. It’s an important one, given the negative experience that many women have had when trying to report sexual abuse, including low conviction rates for perpetrators and a feeling that their stories were not heard.

Workplace investigation alert – injunctions in investigations: Do they ever work?

May 29, 2019 | By Janice Rubin

There is no question that workplace investigations are disruptive and difficult for the parties involved. Sometimes parties are removed from the workplace or their duties are modified. Complainants and respondents are often concerned about damage to their reputations and their careers once it is known that a complaint has been made, and that an investigation is being conducted.

How microaggressions can turn a “compliment” into discrimination and harassment

May 14, 2019

Examples of problematic workplace behaviours often include the obvious: a racial slur, a homophobic “joke” or inappropriate touching. But what happens when the behaviour in question is less overt? While seemingly innocuous, these types of comments can amount to what has been dubbed “microaggressions”. Named the ‘Top Word of 2015’ by the Global Language Monitor, this term has become increasingly popular in our common parlance. But what are microaggressions and why should employers (and other institutions) be concerned about them?

Employee who is harassed, slapped in the face, and then fired for cause gets $200,000 in damages

April 29, 2019 | By Janice Rubin

Sometimes, when I tell people that I conduct workplace investigations for a living, I am met with surprise. “There is a need for that?” they ask, often adding their view that harassment is a thing of the past. When I explain that it is not only harassment that is a problem in Canadian workplaces, but also violence, I am often met with complete disbelief.

But I did an Investigation…: BC Human Rights Tribunal weighs in on investigative gaps in discrimination case

April 26, 2019

The law on harassment investigations tells us that an employer must conduct an investigation that is “reasonable” and “appropriate in the circumstances.” The challenge is to know what the exact content of a reasonable and appropriate investigation is, particularly when the workplace issue to investigate appears to be like a puzzle with missing pieces whose final picture is constantly shifting.

Drawing the line: When performance management becomes harassment

April 12, 2019

Most of us approach our work with the intention of doing our best. We strive to ensure that the quality of our work meets the standards that we have set for ourselves as well as those established by our employer and the clients or customers we serve. Whether or not this objective is realized depends on a combination of factors that relate to our individual strengths and the particular conditions of our work environment.

Serious insight for serious situations.