In Ontario, employers have a statutory duty under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) to conduct an investigation into complaints and incidents of workplace harassment that is “appropriate in the circumstances.” If a complaint is related to any human rights ground that is covered by the Ontario Human Rights Code (the code), employers have a similar duty to “reasonably investigate” the complaint.
An employer has an obligation to take steps to deal with workplace harassment of employees once the harassment is known to the employer – whether or not the employee who has experienced the harassment wants to make a formal complaint.
In a recent decision of the Ontario Divisional Court (Metrolinx v. Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1587, 2024 ONSC 1900), the employer became aware of a Whatsapp group chat conversation with a number of its employees which included sexually harassing references to another employee, Ms. A. When the employer asked Ms. A if she wanted to file a complaint, she declined. The employer continued to investigate the matter without Ms. A’s participation. The court found that it was reasonable for the employer to proceed with the investigation in the absence of a formal complaint.
