New legislation aims to make workplaces, campuses and communities safer and more responsive to complaints about sexual violence and harassment and the needs of survivors.
On March 8, 2016 Ontario passed Bill 132, the Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act.
For employers, Bill 132 amends the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) to include specific requirements for sexual harassment prevention programs in the workplace. The changes create employer duties to protect workers, including a duty to ensure that incidents and complaints of sexual harassment are appropriately investigated.
In 2010, the Ontario government passed Bill 168 which introduced changes to the OHSA requiring employers to develop Workplace Harassment and Violence policies and programs in the workplace. Bill 168 primarily focused on Workplace Violence. Bill 132 expands on the Workplace Harassment provisions in the OHSA and will require employers to revisit their Harassment policy and procedures.
Sexual Harassment Prevention Legislation – OHSA Summary of Major changes:
- Definition of workplace harassment is expanded to include workplace sexual harassment;
- Definition of workplace harassment is expanded to clarify that reasonable action taken by management to direct workers or the workplace is not workplace harassment.
- Employers are required to develop, maintain and review annually a written program to implement the Workplace Harassment Policy.
- A Ministry of Labour Inspector can order an employer to hire an impartial investigator to conduct an investigation of workplace harassment.
Workplace sexual harassment is defined as:
- engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct against a worker in a workplace because of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, where the course of comment or conduct is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome, or
- making a sexual solicitation or advance where the person making the solicitation or advance is in a position to confer, grant or deny a benefit or advancement to the worker and the person knows or ought reasonably to know that the solicitation or advance is unwelcome.
Employers need to:
- Review and update their Workplace Harassment Policy.
- Review and develop a written program to implement the Workplace Harassment Policy, in consultation with the Joint Health and Safety Committee or Health and Safety Representative, if any. The written program must include procedures for: reporting incidents, investigating, disclosing information, and informing workers involved about the results of the investigation and any corrective action required.
- Train workers on the contents of the Workplace Harassment Policy and Program.
- Train managers and supervisors on how to identify and investigate incidents of harassment.
- Appropriately investigate incidents and complaints of workplace harassment.
- Inform workers involved, in writing, about the results of the investigation and any corrective action required.
- Review and update Policy and Program annually.
Sexual Harassment Prevention Legislation – OHSA amendments come into force on September 8, 2016. The information provided here is an overview of the changes to the OHSA. For details refer to Bill 132.
