Category : Resources And Articles

Although each workplace may have its rules against harassment in general, the legal code only protects against sexual harassment. The term “sexual harassment” includes a course of conduct that makes a person uncomfortable as a result of his/her gender. It also includes sexual solicitation or advances that are unwelcome, particularly but not exclusively where they are made by a person’s boss or superior. Sexual harassment includes unnecessary physical contact such as touching, patting, pinching, leering, kissing and hugging. It also includes verbal harassment.

If harassments are allowed to continue, a company will suffer from employee stress-related illness, low morale, and ultimately low production as well. The other cost is to the company’s reputation in the marketplace.

It can be difficult for an employer to enforce a non-competition agreement that prevents workers such as sales people from working for a competitor. In those situations, it’s hard to argue that there is a proprietary interest that the organization has a right to protect. In those situations, a non-solicitation agreement would be preferable because it prevents the employee from approaching and soliciting the same clients that his previous employer was dealing with. A non-competition agreement takes the employee out of his area of expertise, saying he can’t work as a salesman. Courts are really reluctant to do this except in the most extreme situations.

It can be difficult for an employer to enforce a non-competition agreement that prevents workers such as sales people from working for a competitor. In those situations, it’s hard to argue that there is a proprietary interest that the organization has a right to protect. In those situations, a non-solicitation agreement would be preferable because it prevents the employee from approaching and soliciting the same clients that his previous employer was dealing with. A non-competition agreement takes the employee out of his area of expertise, saying he can’t work as a salesman. Courts are really reluctant to do this except in the most extreme situations.

An employer can make employment dependent upon a non-competition agreement. If the candidate refuses to sign the agreement, the employer can say, “I’m sorry, your employment is depending upon our agreement to a non-competition clause.”

The Leviathan and the Minnow: A Cautionary Tale about Accommodation, By Melynda Layton LLB, As Published in November 2005 Issue of Up-Date OHRPA Newsletter

Matheson v. Canadian Freightways Ltd. [2003] B.C.J. No. 2624, By Melynda Layton LLB, As Published in March 2004 Online Edition of OHRPA Legislative News