Sexual Harassment

A sexual harassment incident can occur anywhere, anytime. In the social media era, reputational harm may arise the moment an allegation surfaces – and escalate quickly. Ensuring your organization is poised to respond in a timely, appropriate way can significantly impact outcomes, but getting one step ahead may help avoid incidents altogether.

Hicks Morley has the expertise to design policies, protocols and training to help create a sexual harassment-free work environment that will help protect your team, and your business.

Employers

Employers in all sectors and industries have obligations and duties with respect to the prevention of sexual harassment and implementing the right measures for your workplace is critical.

At Hicks Morley, we assist employers by:

  • Advising on sexual harassment issues and Human Rights Code and Occupational Health and Safety Act compliance
  • Drafting policies on sexual harassment, including protocols for responding to complaints, and advising on enforcement, including discipline
  • Advising on sexual harassment investigations and providing investigations training for human resources professionals
  • Delivering customized training for employees at every level – whether it be board members, executives, supervisors and managers or frontline employees
  • Providing representation in human rights matters before the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, labour arbitrators and courts, and in health and safety matters before the Ontario Labour Relations Board and the courts.

Service Providers

Allegations of sexual harassment by a customer can be extremely damaging to any business. To minimize risk and avoid reputational harm, Hicks Morley can help your organization develop preventative measures as well as help manage any complaints should they arise.

Our suite of services include:

  • Advising on sexual harassment issues and Human Rights Code and Occupational Health and Safety Act compliance
  • Drafting policies on sexual harassment and customer incident response
  • Providing investigations training for front-line employees and management with respect to customer-related incidents
  • Providing representation in human rights matters before the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario and the courts, defending your organization against complaints or claims brought by customers

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

In this #MeToo world, it is important that employers address issues relating to sexual harassment in the workplace in a timely and proactive manner. In this video, Nadine Zacks outlines several best practices for employers, ranging from the development of robust policies to leading by example. She also discusses the importance of providing training to employees and the need to act promptly when responding to allegations of harassment.

sexual harassment in the workplace video

 

The Hicks Morley Advantage

As recognized leaders in the areas of occupational health and safety and human rights law, we offer an integrated, holistic approach to the prevention of sexual harassment.

From accommodation, discrimination and reprisal issues, to the prevention of workplace violence, to managing privacy and risk, we help you build and maintain a respectful workplace and business. In addition to holding sessions on the latest legal developments, we offer a number of hands-on workshops for human resources professionals, including our Workplace Investigation Workshop. We can also deliver training programs customized to your environment and delivered at your premises, at your convenience. We tailor those sessions to reflect your organization, your corporate values and your organization’s particular needs, given the sector in which you operate.

As this is a rapidly-changing area, we closely monitor legislative and case law developments and keep our clients informed of their evolving legal obligations through our newsletters and educational programs.