“Employers will be held vicariously responsible for discrimination arising from the acts or omissions of their employees and/or agents, so it’s not acceptable to ignore harassment or sexual harassment claims. Employers have legal obligations to prevent sexual harassment, discrimination, and workplace bullying under the Human Rights Code and Occupational Health and Safety Act.”
So says Paulette Haynes, principal of Haynes Law Firm in Toronto, after the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal ordered an employer and its owner to pay $180,000 for the owner’s sexual harassment and sexual assault of a worker who was new to Canada.
The worker came to Canada in March 2019 as a refugee from Iran, where she had suffered several traumatic events such as forced marriage and abuse.
