April 14, 2016
Mathews Dinsdale & Clark LLP 155 Wellington Street West Suite 3600, RBC Centre Toronto, ON M5V 3H1

As one of the first Canadian jurisdictions to use health and safety laws to address workplace harassment, in 2010 Ontario added a definition of and provisions for “harassment” reporting and response into the Occupational Health and Safety Act . The province is now poised to significantly expand those OHS harassment provisions. Ontario has tabled Bill 132 as part of a broad process to address sexual harassment and sexual violence in Ontario known as the “Its Never OK Action Plan to Stop Sexual Harassment and Violence”. This session will introduce participants to these proposed amendments to the workplace harassment provisions of the OHSA, and discuss their implications if passed, as well as practical strategies for dealing with harassment related issues and complaints under OHS legislation. The session will cover:

• How media attention in sexual assault and harassment cases could result in significant increased attention on this matter as an occupational health and safety issue;
• The proposed new and additional definition of “sexual harassment” in the OHSA;
• A proposed clarification to the harassment definition to exclude reasonable management action;
• Proposed expanded OHSA obligations of employers to investigate and inform the parties involved of the results of the investigation;
• Proposed confidentiality and non-disclosure provisions;
• Proposed new powers of Ministry of Labour inspectors to order direct impartial third party investigations, and when that might occur; and
• Practical advice on responding to OHSA harassment complaints appropriately in the circumstances, preparing and distributing information and reports, maintaining confidentiality where appropriate or required and how OHSA harassment will continue to interplay with Human Rights related issues and complaints.