Of recent situations

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Catherine Montambeault

Sunday, 22 October, 2017 08:00

UPDATE
Sunday, 22 October, 2017 08:00

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If one of your colleagues harassing you at work, be aware that the responsibility for his inappropriate behaviour does not come back to him. According to the Law on labour standards, your employer is under the obligation to protect against psychological harassment. It must take concrete measures to prevent the disease, in addition to take action to end it as soon as it is informed. If this is not the case, the company may be punished, as was the case in these four recent decisions.

His boss insults instead of help

A waitress in the restaurant Bàcaro Pizza Bar City, located in Montreal, was violently insulted by his boss when he learned that she had been the victim of sexual harassment.

The woman has filed a complaint against his employer at the labour Court in 2015.

She says that the chef, by the name of Vincenzo, would have followed in the basement of the bistro one evening, while she went to get napkins. He would have said to him ” it is only, I could rape you if I wanted to “, and then would have laid hold of him and licked his face.

The man would have inserted his tongue into the mouth of the victim before they arrived to repel them. At the moment to go to the floor, the chef would have made a sign of silence.

One of the owners of the restaurant, Angelo Mercuri, got wind of the event because an employee had noticed some scratches on the face of the victim.

Mr. Mercuri has then accused the young woman to say ” no matter what “. The waitress recorded the exchange on his cell phone.

“You cruises throughout the world since the beginning because you’re a cr*ss of a bitch,” quipped the owner, before adding that this is ” not [his] business what goes on between two people.”

The waitress is no longer returned to the restaurant after this shift.

In a decision rendered last November, the judge said that the “gestures heinous” which had been inflicted on the complainant were ” undoubtedly of the nature of a sexual assault “.

He also pointed out that in addition to not assume its responsibilities as an employer, Angelo Mercuri had “added to the psychological harassment “” denigrating [the complainant] and throwing her insults deeply vulgar “.

The consequences for the employer are not yet known.

His superior asked him to discuss with her stalker

An employee of the Commission touristique du Port-Joli victim of sexual harassment said to have been approached by his superior to argue with her harasser to resolve the problem.

The woman has filed a complaint to the labour relations Commission in 2010. The state of touching and repeated sexual innuendos that she would have endured during the summer while she was a cook at The restaurant la Roche Veillon, Saint-Jean-Port-Joli.

It is said that the new head chef, Mr. Provencher, often took by the hips and was rubbing her back, despite the disapproving looks that they were throwing to him.

The woman with him would have meant his discomfort a few times, but his colleague would be treated in “holy little hypocrite “and” sober “.

When she spoke to the director-general of the Commission of tourism, Nancy Carrier, it would have excused the conduct of the cook, declaring that” it touches all the people he meets.

Mrs. Carrier would also be offered to the victim to meet her harasser to discuss it with him. The complainant would have refused and quit his job at the end of the season.

In its decision made in 2011, the judge concluded that the way of acting of the director-general was “against common sense” and showed ” little consideration given to the situation “.

The case was brought before the superior Court.

They tell him that his complaint will go nowhere

An employee of the bakery artisanal Bread from Alain, Gatineau, says being told by her bosses that her complaint would go nowhere when she said that she was a victim of harassment at work.

The woman has filed a complaint with the Commission des relations du travail in 2014.

She argues that one of his colleagues, Gilles Robert, he pinched the thighs, arm and ribs two to three times per week for over a year.

Although the victim asked him several times to stop, the man would have continued his actions, going up to him to flatter cheeks, talking to him.

The employee would have reported her discomfort to the manager of the trade and the co-owner, Jacques Amsellem, at least three times. His bosses would have replied that Mr. Robert would not change, since it had always been like this.

In 2015, a judge ordered the bakery to pay 1870 $ in moral damages and compensation award to the lady, because the harassment forced her to quit her job.

“The employer has failed in its obligation to correct the situation,” says the decision.

His employer ordered to pay $ 10,000

A company that has not made an inquiry following a complaint for sexual harassment has been ordered to pay $ 10,000 to an employee last year.

In a complaint filed with the administrative Tribunal of the work, the woman rumored to have been the victim of sexual misconduct on the part of one of his colleagues while she was working for a manufacturing company of Italian dishes, between June and September 2014.

The man in question, he would have hit the chest at least three times, in addition to the embrace of force on the cheek and take a photo of his crotch while she was sitting down. It would have also offered to pay to sleep with her and would have tried to palpate her sex.

The complainant claims to have denounced the situation to the owner of the trade several times, to no avail. It is said to have replied that the man was not the type to take the course of action reported.

In its decision, one judge argued that the employer has never established any policy to prevent or end sexual harassment.

“An employer may not be satisfied not to believe or not to take seriously a denunciation of harassment, he said. It needs to be proactive and conduct the investigation without delay as soon as it is informed. “