Lauri Reesor Quoted in Benefits Canada on #MeToo in the Workplace
Benefits Canada quoted Hicks Morley’s Lauri Reesor in a May 11, 2018 article titled “A Workplace Guide for the #MeToo Era.”
With the #MeToo movement in full swing in recent months mostly focused on high-profile cases of sexual harassment in the entertainment industry and the political sphere, Benefits Canada discusses what employers should be doing to respond to a new reality of zero tolerance for misbehaviour.
Employers certainly have a moral duty and often a legal obligation to investigate the matter. Well before an incident occurs, however, employers should both develop policies and procedures that define harassment — including sexual harassment — and other behaviours that are unacceptable in the workplace and outline the steps they’ll take in response to an allegation. “Training should address how employees can bring complaints forward, the process for investigating them and how it will protect the parties’ confidentiality,” says Lauri. “Those are all really important things … so people feel safe coming forward with those types of allegations,” she added.