Employee Misconduct

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As of January 1, 2021, the new stand-alone Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations (the “Regulations”) will come into force to ensure employers prevent harassment and violence in federally regulated industries and workplaces. The Regulations will apply to all federal work places covered under Part II of the Canada Labour Code (the Code), including the federally regulated private sector, the federal public service and parliamentary work places. It will replace Part XX (violence prevention) of the Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (COHSR), as well as portions of two other regulations that include violence prevention provisions.

Key Takeaways

Once the Regulations come into force, employers must:

  1. Prepare the workplace harassment and violence prevention policy working jointly with the policy committee, the workplace committee, or the health and safety representative;
  2. Assess the risk of workplace harassment and violence;
  3. Inform and train employees, and participate in training themselves;
  4. When an incident of harassment or violence is reported, respond within seven days;
  5. Keep records on every incident of harassment and violence in the workplace and report annually to the Labour Program; and
  6. Implement corrective measures in response to the investigation report of an investigator to prevent future occurrences of harassment and violence.

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Continue Reading New Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Regime for Federally Regulated Employers

We’re pleased to share a recent Canadian HR Reporter article, “Whistleblowers fear job loss, disclosure, retaliation”, with insight from Andrew Shaw. The article discusses the reasons why employees may be reluctant to report instances of wrongdoing by coworkers or members of management and what employers can do to facilitate legitimate complaints being brought forward.…

After-acquired cause, by definition, arises when an employer discovers just cause for termination after the employee has been dismissed on a without cause basis. This begs the question: Can an employer assert after-acquired cause when it has reason to suspect just cause prior to the termination, but proceeds on a without cause basis due to the employee’s representations of innocence? The Ontario Court of Appeal has answered affirmatively.…
Continue Reading After-Acquired Cause: Employer’s Due Diligence Pays Off

Employers commonly receive calls from Employment Insurance (EI) Officers seeking clarification of the information provided by the employer in a Record of Employment (ROE). The clarification or confirmation typically relates to the employee’s first / last day worked, insurable hours, insurable earnings and / or the reason for issuing the ROE (Block 16).

Employers who are asked to speak to their reason for issuing the ROE should pause and consider what, if any, information to share with the EI Officer. Employers should also carefully consider what steps to take upon receipt of correspondence from the EI Officer or the Canada Employment Insurance Commission (Commission).…
Continue Reading Discussions with EI Officers: Employers Should Tread Carefully

One of the clearest messages from the #MeToo movement has been that sexual harassers need to be held accountable for their actions. This message has resonated with employers and most now appreciate that they need to promptly investigate and appropriately address misconduct once they become aware of it. But employer obligations extend beyond remedial action and include, in Ontario and other jurisdictions, implementing preventative policies and educating employees on the policies.

However, a new US research report indicates that policies aren’t enough and employers need to pay attention to certain warning signs in the workplace to effectively stem sexual harassment. The report’s authors contend that organizational climate is the greatest determinant of sexual harassment occurring in a workplace. In fact, corporate culture can either encourage or discourage an employee to harass, according to the authors.…
Continue Reading Is Your Workplace Prone to Sexual Harassment? 5 Warning Signs to Watch For