Significant changes to the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act come into effect on September 8, 2016 regarding workplace sexual harassment and workplace investigations.  The following is a checklist aimed at assisting employers in implementing the requisite changes pursuant to Bill 132.  

On October 27, 2015, the Ontario government introduced Bill 132 (the Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act (Supporting Survivors and Challenging Sexual Violence and Harassment), 2015. If passed, it will amend a variety of legislation in relation to sexual violence, sexual harassment, domestic violence, and related matters.

A recent B.C. case, Lau v. Royal Bank of Canada, 2015 BCSC 1639, confirms that courts will carefully scrutinize the sufficiency of employers’ investigation, particularly where it is relied upon to terminate an employee for cause

Many organizations rely upon formal complaints and workplace investigations to respond to conflict to the exclusion of more proactive processes, such as workplace mediation, which may prevent conflict from escalating to the point where a formal investigation is required.

Most organizations carefully consider the manner in which a workplace investigation will be carried out. However, a key component of the investigation process is frequently overlooked: communicating the results to the parties.