Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER August 8, 2016 18 INSIGHT W EIRD ORKPLACE THE Vol. 29 No. 13 – August 8, 2016 PUBLISHED BY Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. One Corporate Plaza 2075 Kennedy Rd. Toronto, ON M1T 3V4 ©Copyright 2015 by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. CANADIAN HR REPORTER is published 21 times a year. Publications Mail – Agreement # 40065782 Registration # 9496 – ISSN 0838-228X Director, Carswell Media: Karen Lorimer - (416) 649-9411 karen.lorimer@thomsonreuters.com EDITORIAL Publisher/Editor in Chief: Todd Humber - (416) 298-5196 todd.humber@thomsonreuters.com Editor/Supervisor: Sarah Dobson - (416) 649-7896 sarah.dobson@thomsonreuters.com Senior Editor: Liz Bernier - (416) 649-7837 liz.bernier@thomsonreuters.com Employment Law Editor: Jeffrey R. 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Address changes and returns: Send changes and undeliverable Canadian addresses to: SUBSCRIBER SERVICES Canadian HR Reporter One Corporate Plaza 2075 Kennedy Rd. Toronto, ON M1T 3V4 CUSTOMER SERVICE Call: (416) 609-3800 (Toronto) (800) 387-5164 (outside Toronto) Fax: (416) 298-5082 (Toronto) (877) 750-9041 (outside Toronto) Email: carswell.customerrelations@ thomsonreuters.com LETTERS TO THE EDITOR todd.humber@thomsonreuters.com CHRR reserves the right to edit for length and clarity. Todd Humber Editor's Notes One more nail in sexual harassment coffin Roger Ailes of Fox News is out – and I couldn't be happier R oger Ailes, the curmud- geon who built Fox News into an empire is out — and I'm not happy he's gone be- cause of the detrimental impact he's had on journalism. Nor am I gleeful that he's out because of the constant stream of mis- information that rolls out of Fox News. No, I'm glad he's gone because it's yet another nail in the coffin of a culture where sexual harassment of women is met with a blind eye. Ailes, 76, was facing accusa- tions of sexual harassment from former anchor Gretchen Carlson. Other reports surfaced in New York magazine from other women who claimed Ailes behaved inap- propriately — a number reported to be as high as 20. Current Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly appar- ently told investigators hired by Fox that he "made unwanted sex- ual advances toward her" about 10 years ago. ere are no allegations Ailes physically did anything — it was what he said that made the dif- ference, and that's a message that needs to get out. Sexual ha- rassment isn't necessarily about touching a colleague. It doesn't need to involve actual physical contact. In her lawsuit, Carlson claims Ailes asked her for sex and fired her when she refused. She claims he said: "I think you and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago and then you'd be good and better and I'd be good and better." She also claims he ogled her in his office and asked her to turn around so he could view her from behind. Words so matter. Watching Ailes — who seemed untouchable given his massive success — fall from grace is a great lesson. We're way past the tipping point, folks. If you treat people like this, you deserve to lose your job — no matter how much power and influence you have. And yet the pages of publica- tions such as Canadian Employ- ment Law Today are filled with story after story of inappropriate behaviour. And, far too often, it's in the form of men objectifying women. And please don't trot out the comments about me being too politically correct. Last month, in his speech at the Republican Na- tional Convention, presidential candidate Donald Trump said, "We cannot afford to be so politi- cally correct anymore." On some fronts, he's right. But I hope we can all agree that the sexual harassment of women and gender equality has nothing to do with political correctness. Sexual harassment remains far too commonplace at work. Whether it be whistles and cat- calls, online stalking, unwanted advances or an uncomfortable looking up and down — we need to behave better. Ailes resigned, but likely had no other choice. His bosses at Fox were not happy with the accusa- tions. He reportedly got a massive golden parachute in the form of a US$40-million severance. But let's not focus on that. We can all help stamp out this behaviour by stealing a line from anti-terrorism campaigns — "If you see something, say something." I've had instances in the past where I've seen harassment of colleagues and not said anything. I was younger, more unsure and the work culture seemed to allow it and laugh it off. I'm not proud of my silence. ose days need to come to an end. If someone like Ailes can lose his job because of how he behaved towards women, anyone can. If you're experiencing harassment, talk to your manager or the HR department. If you're in HR, you know you can't afford to take complaints lightly. Employer liability is grow- ing and public tolerance is waning. Let's focus on the simple mes- sage: If you sexually harass some- one at work, you're going to lose your job. READING BETWEEN THE LINES KITCHENER, ONT. — A rejec- tion letter has landed a financial company in Kitchener, Ont., in hot water after the applicant filed a complaint with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. Jama Hagi-Yusuf applied to a posting for an investment advisor's assis- tant, according to the CBC, but the response from Sandy Mathe- son of Integral Wealth Securities shocked the University of Wa- terloo science grad: "I have read stories about how Somalia has a culture of resistance to authority. Such a culture would be quite dif- ferent than the Canadian culture (which) sees... cutting ahead in a lineup as a great social error. e investment industry is a subcul- ture with its own rules and tra- ditions. It is normal for people to train for entry into this field. While your academic career sug- gests the training would be well within your competence, there is no demonstrated enthusiasm in past experience for entering this subculture. Due to lack of back- ground, I must decline your ap- plication." Matheson later said he was trying to be helpful and Hagi- Yusuf 's background did not fac- tor into his decision and he men- tioned Somali culture because he had recently read an article in a newspaper so it was top of mind. But Hagi-Yusuf, who was born in Toronto and has refugee parents, said he wants an apology. IT'S MORE THAN JUST 'HO, HO, HO' COPENHAGEN — Christmas is more than four months away but Santas from the world got together recently at the annual World Santa Claus Congress in Copenhagen. e three-day event — which has run since 1957 — saw 140 of the jolly fellows from 12 countries gathered in the Danish capital, according to Reuters. Attendees take the opportunity to discuss issues concerning their job, such as presents and weight regulations. "A successful Santa is not just about the costumes and the clothes. You have to have Christmas in your heart. You have to have the love of children and caring and giving in your heart to be a really successful Santa and it's not something you can make up. It has to be in you and people know, they can see it," said one Canadian Santa. PROWLING FOR POKEMON MINATITLAN, MEXICO — e craze surrounding the new game app Pokemon GO has inspired a taxi driver in the Mexican state of Veracruz to offer his services as a "Pokemon hunter." To play the augmented reality mobile phone game, players must physically move around to capture charac- ters. So 29-year-old Emilio Cacho drives customers around in search of the colourful creatures, accord- ing to Reuters, and he has received many calls since his offer. "I didn't know about the game but I heard a lot of talk about people going out to look for (Pokemon), so I thought it was a good way to make money, now that the economic situa- tion in Veracruz is so difficult," he said. e driver charges 130 pesos ($9.20) for the first hour to pursue Pokemon, then 100 pesos for each subsequent hour. CROSS-ED OUT IN TEXAS AUSTIN, TEXAS — Images of the cross have been removed from police cars in Brewster County, Texas, after a group promoting the separation of church and state said they amounted to unconstitutional local government promotion of Christianity, according to Reuters. Texas governor Greg Abbott had defended the right to display a cross with a horizontal thin blue line on the vehicles: "In addition to its religious significance, the cross has a long history in America and elsewhere as a symbol of service and sacrifice." And Brewster Coun- ty sheriff Ronny Dodson said the crosses were for "God's protection over his deputies." But "political, religious, commercial or personal" phrases or signs on county-owned property are now banned because of the settlement with the Freedom From Religion Foundation. ARRESTING ABSENTEEISM BOSCOTRECASE, ITALY — Employers have always struggled with em- ployee absenteeism, but one Italian town is taking a particularly hard-nosed approach with problem workers. e mayor of Boscotrecase had to shut down most municipal offices after police arrested 23 of his staff for fraud against the state, according to Reuters. A lengthy investigation had revealed 200 cases of absenteeism involving 30 people. Staff were filmed doing personal business on company time and using multiple swipe cards to clock in absent colleagues. One man was seen trying to tamper with a security camera and then put a card- board box on his head to hide his identity before swiping two cards. "I'll probably have to shut down the town hall," said recently elected mayor Pietro Carotenuto. e workers have been suspended from work for six to 12 months and could face dismissal. Credit: Tribalium (Shutterstock) If you're in HR, you know you can't afford to take complaints lightly. Employer liability is growing.

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