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
By: David F. Slipp and Levi Parsche In May 2022, Bill 96 was adopted by Quebec’s National Assembly, significantly amending the Charter of the French Language (the “Charter“). The amendments create new requirements for using…
Read MoreBy Dave Randell, G. John Samms, and Stuart Wallace With the deadline for bids on crown lands available for wind energy projects extended to noon on March 23rd, the latest development in our Winds of…
Read MoreBy Kevin Landry and Colton Smith The Retail Payment Activities Regulations have been released in the Canada Gazette Part 1 for comment. Interested persons may make representations concerning the proposed regulations for a period of 45…
Read MoreBy Andrew Burke, Colleen Keyes, Gavin Stuttard and David Slipp With proxy season once again approaching, many public companies are in the midst of preparing their annual disclosure documents and shareholder materials for their annual…
Read MoreBy Brittany Trafford and Sean Corscadden In response to the nationwide labour shortage, the Federal government is allowing select family members of foreign workers to apply for open work permits. This temporary policy came into…
Read MoreMark Tector and Ben Currie Effective January 1, 2023, amendments to Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”) took effect, excluding “business consultants” and “information technology consultants” from the application of the ESA. This is a…
Read MoreBy Perlene Morrison, K.C. and Curtis Doyle Once again, the time has come to review the year that was and to chart the course for the year ahead. For municipalities and planning professionals in Prince…
Read MoreBy Grant Machum ICD.D, Sean Kelly & Ben Currie As the window for “Happy New Year” wishes winds down, our Labour and Employment Group has compiled an overview of emerging trends and issues in workplace…
Read MoreWednesday’s Thought Leadership piece from our Immigration Group detailed the impacts of recent Federal legislation limiting housing purchases by non-Canadians on Foreign Nationals, international students and temporary and permanent residents. Today, lawyers from our Real…
Read MoreBy Brendan Sheridan Residential housing prices in Canada have been a major area of concern for many Canadians who have been looking to purchase a home in recent years. While the market for residential homes…
Read More