Civility within the Workplace?
“He can call me a liar, whore, slut, bitch, but when he called me a thief, that’s crossing the line.” Employers behaving badly by demeaning and belittling their employees has become a systemic problem.
In 2009 the Occupational Health and Safety Act was amended so as to require employers’ to prepare a policy with respect to workplace harassment and violence and review that policy annually. Internal policies must include procedures for workers to report incidents of harassment and violence. Policies must set out how complaints will be investigated and dealt with.
It was the last insult that went too far. The proverbial “crossed line” however, is rarely as black and white as it was in Horyn v. B.H. Shopping Centre Ltd.. In some organizations querying the inappropriate actions of a worker can unjustifiably result in an harassment allegation while in other businesses its not until communications degenerate to the lowest common denomination that the proverbial line is crossed. My personal experience has been at both ends of the continuum. When I was a younger lawyer practicing in a mid-sized firm, complaining that the line was crossed was a game that staff played in a never-ending power struggle. I experienced the exact opposite approach when working at a large lawfirm which tolerated the foul language, demeaning communications, and the occasional physical threat (flying books) of its more senior representatives.
Clearly, employers owe an obligation to provide a workplace for its employees consistent with an atmosphere of civility, decency, respect, and dignity. But what does that mean?. In Horyn v. B.H. Shopping Centre Ltd. the line was pretty clearly crossed; the Court had little difficulty concluding Ms. Horyn was constructively dismissed when her employer publicly claimed she was the cause of its financial ruin. How can somebody return to a workplace where her boss called her names, unjustifiably criticized her, and generally treated her poorly? The fact that Ms. Horyn did not act immediately when leaving her employment was irrelevant; given her long term relationship with the employer she acted reasonably when trying to sort out the situation with the owner. It was only after he refused to support her that Ms. Horyn concluded that the relationship was irreconciliable. Being the ‘Boss’ doesn’t give you the right to be a bully.
The Court awarded Ms. Horyn additional damages of about one and one-half months salary because of the manner in which she was dismissed. While not a windfall it is a message to employers that workers are not required to tolerate abusive conduct.
