conflict resolution
What is
“Workplace
Harassment?
THERE’S MORE TO IT THAN YOU
MAY THINK
By Peter V. Matukas, BA, LLB, AWI-CH
Workplace and sexual harassment have recently come
to the forefront of international news, discussions
around corporate round tables and around the
water cooler. But what is “workplace harassment?”
In Ontario, the Occupational Health and Safety Act, RSO 1990,
c O.1 (OHSA) defines “workplace harassment” as: “(a) engaging
in a course of vexatious comment or conduct against a worker in
a workplace that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be
unwelcome; or (b) workplace sexual harassment.”
The OHSA defines “workplace sexual harassment” as: “(a)
engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct against
a worker in a workplace because of sex, sexual orientation, gen-der
identity or gender expression, where the course of comment
or conduct is known or ought reasonably to be known to be
unwelcome, or (b) making a sexual solicitation or advance where
the person making the solicitation or advance is in a position
to confer, grant or deny a benefit or advancement to the worker
and the person knows or ought to know that the solicitation or
advance is unwelcome.”
Further, the Ontario Human Rights Code, RSO 1990, c H.19
(HRC) clearly states that every employee has a right to freedom
from harassment in the workplace because of race, ancestry, place
of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sexual orienta-tion,
gender identity, gender expression, age, record of offences,
marital status, family status, disability or sex by his or her
employer, another employee or agent of the employer. It does not
matter whether the intention was to offend someone, what mat-ters
is whether the offender knew or should have known that the
comments or conduct were unwelcome to the other person.
What do these definitions mean? What constitutes workplace
harassment or workplace sexual harassment?
Workplace harassment has many forms and can come from all levels of a business
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