Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER October 30, 2017 EMPLOYMENT LAW 5 Jeffrey Smith Legal View Institute of Professional Management 2210-1081 Ambleside Drive, Ottawa, ON, K2B 8C8 Tel: (613) 721-5957 Toll Free: 1-888-441-0000 ipm Details at : www.workplace.ca/hr-reporter.html The Professional Manager Full Accreditation Program on Multimedia CD-ROM valid until November 30, 2017 This program covers a set of key management skills. The goal is to help you manage the workload, communicate more e ectively and use resources wisely. Successful completion of all 12 Modules of this program makes you eligible for membership in the Canadian Management Professional's Association, CMPA, with the CMP (Canadian Management Professional) designation. This new multi-media deluxe package includes three (3) CD-ROMS with over 200 minutes of audio visual clips, participant workbook and exam. $745 regular $945 ... save $200 Alberta golf course superintendent in the rough after harassing worker Treatment of subordinate worsened after woman refused his romantic advances Unrequited love is a difficult thing to face, but one Alberta golf course superinten- dent chose a bad path when he continued to harass a subordinate employee after she rejected his advances. As a result, his employer was justified in firing him, the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench has ruled. Ralph Watkins, 67, was the golf course superintendent at Willow Park Golf Course in Calgary. He was hired in 1999 with a staff of about seven full-time and 30 sea- sonal workers reporting to him. In the spring of 2011, Watkins developed romantic feelings for a full-time employee who reported to him, Andrea Li. She had been hired in 2005 as a seasonal em- ployee and became a year-round, full-time employee in 2007. ey took trips together with his grand- children and Li's young daughter, and Watkins invited Li on a trip to Winnipeg to play a golf course there. At the time, he thought Li felt the same way about him, though she was 32 years younger. In the fall of 2010, Willow Park decided to revitalize its sand traps. e assistant superintendent de- voted most of his time to the proj- ect in the ensuing months, so in May 2011, Watkins promoted Li to the position of assistant super- intendent along with giving her a pay raise. He also wrote a letter of recommendation that said Li had held that title for three years before then, though it wasn't true. Around the same time, Watkins allowed Li to move a desk into his office that he shared with the ex- isting assistant superintendent. He also gave her a parking space beside his in front of the grounds office building and allowed her to come in one-and-one-half hours later than other grounds crew employees, ostensibly because she couldn't find child care early in the morning. Because of Watkins' prefer- ential treatment of Li, other em- ployees started becoming un- happy. is was further fuelled when Watkins and Li attended a social function together at the golf course. Soon after, Watkins admitted to the original assistant superin- tendent that he was "smitten" and "in love" with Li, though he said he didn't have a sexual relationship with her. When Li realized his feelings, she told him she wanted their relationship to remain pro- fessional. By the summer of 2011, they agreed to not see each other outside of work. Wouldn't take 'no' for answer However, Watkins continued to send Li text messages about his feelings and her rejection of him. She became frustrated with his personal messages and feelings, as the job was important to her as a source of income as a single mother. At one point, she went to his home and asked him personal- ly to not text or email her outside of work or for reasons other than work. Watkins acknowledged Li came to his house to speak to him but said it was because they had a heated argument about her bring- ing a male photographer she had met to the golf course. Despite this meeting, Watkins sent more text messages to Li, in- cluding when he was drunk after attending a golf tournament. He also sent emails in August calling himself a fool and referred to her appearance at work one day. On one occasion, Watkins asked Li if she watched pornogra- phy — which he justified as "just friends talking" and asked be- cause she had "been around." Tensions among Watkins, Li and the other staff increased. In October, Li asked him about attending a conference in Las Vegas, but Watkins said Willow Park would not be sending her. ings became heated and they both swore at each other. Watkins later called this "locker room talk" and didn't apologize to Li. How- ever, Li reported two other occa- sions when Watkins called her a vulgar name, that other workers overheard. Another incident in the sum- mer of 2011 saw Watkins scream- ing at another worker, and making personal attacks against her and her family, who were members at the course. He then fired her on the spot, though she only had a few days left in her summer job. e assistant superintendent and the course horticulturist both complained about the volatile and disruptive relationship between Watkins and Li. The assistant superintendent in particular felt caught in the middle because Watkins confided in him about his feelings. In September, the Willow Park management committee learned something was going on in the grounds crew department, as they had noticed Li was calling herself an assistant superintendent on the course's website. When asked, Watkins admitted he had feelings for Li but nothing had come of it. He was told Li could not be assis- tant superintendent because there already was one, so Li should be reclassified. Watkins told the assistant su- perintendent he had been told to fire Li but didn't have the heart to do it, so he asked him to do it. e assistant superintendent refused. On Oct. 26, Li came to work with a letter she planned to give to the management committee stating she was being sexually harassed and felt unsafe at work. She didn't ask for Watkins to be fired but said she needed to feel safe at work. After she dropped off the letter, she noticed Watkins following her around the course as she worked, yelling at her and demanding she meet with him. e horticulturist was with Li and didn't want to leave her alone with Watkins. Li eventually told manage- ment about Watkins' behaviour. Later that day, the management committee viewed the letter and decided to ask Watkins for his resignation. e next day, Watkins was sum- moned before the management committee and he denied the al- legations in Li's letter. He was told he had to resign, and they offered Watkins $25,000 as a settlement. Watkins initially accepted but later rejected it, so the commit- tee terminated his employment for refusing to follow the direc- tion to demote Li, not disclosing his relationship with Li, and the effect of the relationship on other employees. Watkins sued for unjust dis- missal, claiming Willow Park didn't properly investigate Li's complaints against him and didn't allow him to respond to the allegations. Conduct 'reprehensible': Court e important factors in the cir- cumstances were that Li was de- pendent on her job and Watkins was her direct superior, not to mention the "only high-ranking employee with whom she had virtually daily contact," found the court. This made Watkins' in- creasingly aggressive conduct all the more reprehensible. Li gave Watkins plenty of in- dication she wasn't interested in pursuing a romantic relationship and wanted things to remain pro- fessional, said the court, but Wat- kins continued to pressure her and treated her poorly. He knew and understood Li's discomfort, but continued to send inappropriate The Willow Park Golf Course in Calgary. Credit:Google Street View BLANKET > pg. 14

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