Canadian Employment Law Today

sultant said three days wasn't enough time, so Wrench extended the time for Doyle to consider her options to one week. Wrench later testified the severance payment was negotiable, but there was no evidence this was indicated to Doyle. Doyle didn't sign the release and Zochem completed pay - ment of the statutory minimum amount a month later. Doyle felt "betrayed, abused, and upset" and saw a psychiatrist. She was diagnosed with a major depressive disorder and anxi - ety that would cause difficulties with per- forming the duties of her job, so she applied for short-term disability (STD) and long- term disability (LTD) benefits. Zochem re- quested a medical report and determined Doyle's condition was a reaction to her ter- mination rather than exacerbation of a prior condition, so it denied her STD claim. Doyle sued for wrongful dismissal. Zo- chem then claimed after-acquired cause due to abuse of authority, alleging that Doyle at demanded a $10,000 loan from another em- ployee when she refused to pay that amount for drapes that the employee got a deal for her on from a friend. Zochem also referred to Doyle's borrowing of $2,000 from a con - tractor with whom she was friends as "ex- tortion." e court found that it was clear Doyle experienced significant sexual harassment at work. She had no reason to make it up and she went through the proper channels to have it addressed. ere was no dispute that the workplace environment — which was almost all male — involved sexual ban - ter and crude behaviour. It was a fact that Rogers had sexual images and items in his office and was told to get rid of them and be careful of his behaviour. In addition, the third-party assessment indicated there was a culture of harassment, abuse and intimi - dation at Zochem. e court also found Zochem didn't try to fix the problem. It didn't follow through on the recommendations that came out of the survey on violence and harassment and Doyle's complaints weren't taken seriously. Instead of properly dealing with the ha - rassment Doyle suffered, Zochem decided she was the problem and terminated her employment to get rid of her, said the court. ough the company claimed there were performance issues, Doyle wasn't told of any concerns and the real reason for the problems — related to production and health and safety training — were the result of team failings and a lack of company sup - port. ese couldn't be laid at Doyle's feet, the court said. In addition, Zochem's attempt to bring up after-acquired cause fell short. e $10,000 loan from another employee was in fact that employee's demand for $10,000 for drapes that he agreed to get for Doyle for a $2,000 deal. When the employee told Doyle he then wanted $10,000, she refused to pay. Zochem's extortion allegation referred to a loan from the contractor friend who said she didn't need to pay him back. e court found Doyle's 20 years of expe - rience as a supervisor, nine years of service with Zochem, and the importance of her position made her deserving of 10 months' notice of dismissal. e court added an- other $60,000 in moral damages to this, as it found Zochem's treatment of Doyle in her dismissal — including false allegations of poor performance, demanding the release, and taking a month to pay her statutory sev - erance pay — was in bad faith. e court also found Doyle's rights under Ontario's Human Rights Code were seri- ously infringed when Zochem failed to deal with Doyle's sexual harassment complaint. Doyle was entitled to $25,000 in damages for breach of her human rights, said the court. In total, Zochem was ordered to pay Doyle 10 months' pay and pension earnings in lieu of notice minus termination and sev - erance pay already deducted, plus $85,000 in moral and human rights damages. For more information see: •Doyle v. Zochem Inc., 2016 CarswellOnt 19295 (Ont. S.C.J.). Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2017 February 1, 2017 | Canadian Employment Law Today ABOUT THE AUTHOR JEFFREY R. SMITH Jeffrey R. Smith is the editor of Canadian Employment Law Today. He can be reached at jeffrey.r.smith@thomsonreuters.com, or visit www. employmentlawtoday.com for more information. CREDIT: DMITRI MA/SHUTTERSTOCK

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