PM41261516
Toronto police officer gets $85,000
for sexual harassment, discrimination PG.4
Worker faced sexualized comments, jokes
— and even a forced kiss — from higher-
ranking officers
A FORMER supervisor at an Ontario group home
must pay a former employee $170,000 after a
campaign of sexual harassment and sexual assault
against her.
The worker was employed as a direct care worker
for Alan Stewart Homes (ASH), a company that owns
and operates a series of group homes for people with
significant disabilities who are unable to live in
-
dependently. She started work for ASH on Jan. 28,
2016, on a three-month probationary period.
The first location of her employment was a group
home with eight non-verbal male residents, where
she was responsible for bathing, changing diapers,
dressing and feeding them. She reported directly to
the residence supervisor, who was responsible for
scheduling, assignment of shifts and hours for every
-
one working there. The scheduling was done at the
discretion of the supervisor rather than seniority or
any other basis.
On the worker's first day of work, the supervisor
remarked that she had "nice hands." This, along with
some other things, made her think he was a little odd.
This feeling was reinforced a few days later when he
A BRITISH Columbia worker's termination
was related to legitimate performance-related
reasons and not because of a disability that
had already been accommodated to a certain
extent, the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal has
ruled.
FMC Canada operates a chemical plant in
Prince George, B.C. It hired Neil Patzwald in
March 2011 to be a maintenance team lead,
managing the maintenance team at the plant
and reporting to the plant manager. At the
time of his hiring, Patzwald said he didn't have
any management experience, but FMC said it
would provide him with management training.
Before FMC hired him, Patzwald had had
four open-heart surgeries. However, he didn't
tell FMC about them because he didn't think
December 2, 2020
Termination clauses:
Getting it right PG.3
Clarity is key when it comes to
drafting and enforcing
termination clauses in
employment contracts
WORKER
on page 6 »
CREDIT:
ALEXEY
REZVYKH
iSTOCK
SUPERVISOR on page 7 »
with Stuart Rudner
Sexually harassed worker gets
$170,000 from supervisor
Supervisor escalated unwanted behaviour;
worker felt helpless and worried about losing job
Ask an Expert PG. 2
Recalled worker refusing
different position
Disability not protection
from dismissal for poor performance
Employer raised concerns, developed performance improvement plan without
knowledge of disability; also demonstrated willingness to accommodate
BY JEFFREY R. SMITH
BY JEFFREY R. SMITH