legal words
The Importance of a
Standardized Approach
SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGES AWARDED UNDERLINES THE IMPORTANCE OF
THE CSA’S (VOLUNTARY) PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH & SAFETY STANDARD
By Kelly VanBuskirk, BA, LL.B, LLM, Ph.D., C. Arb.
Every once in a while, a Canadian
employment law case causes
employers to rethink their man-agement
practices. The May 2014
decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal
in Boucher v. Wal-Mart Canada Corp.,
slashing a million-dollar employment
damages award made against Wal-Mart
and one of its managers to a still eye-popping
$410,000, is a recent example.
Undoubtedly, the appellate decision to
reduce the award of damages in Boucher
has induced a sigh of relief for some em-ployers,
but the legal principles at the
heart of the decision should renew em-ployer
concerns regarding the importance
of fair and psychologically safe manage-ment
practices in Canadian workplaces.
Employers who study the implica-tions
of the decision will identify the
value of the liability risk reduction strat-egies
available in the Canadian Standards
Association CAN/CSA-Z1003-13/BNQ
9700-803/2013 (the Standard), a na-tional
standard for psychological health
and safety in the workplace. Although
compliance with the Standard is cur-rently
voluntary, the document seeks to
address legitimate concerns regarding
Canada’s bulging mental disability crisis
THE STANDARD HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED, IN PART, AS A RESPONSE
TO THE BALLOONING $50-BILLION ANNUAL BUSINESS LOSSES
ATTRIBUTED TO WORKPLACE MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS IN CANADA.
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HRPATODAY.CA ❚ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 ❚ 13