A damning report on Canada’s largest police force was recently released by former Supreme Court of Canada judge, The Honourable Michel Bastarache, C.C. Q.C. “`Broken Dreams, Broken Lives’: The Devastating Effects of Sexual Harassment on Women in the RCMP” concludes that the culture of the RCMP is toxic, and tolerates misogynistic and homophobic attitudes among leaders and members. Bastarache
After years of resistance, the formerly-named "Washington Redskins" have finally dropped their racist team name and are looking for a new mascot. But beyond rebranding, the newly minted "Washington Football Club" is also scrambling to tackle allegations of sexual harassment levelled this summer by more than 40 female employees. That will take far more than a
Bottom line: An employer who fires an individual merely for being gay or transgender violates Title VII. On May 15, 2020, the US Supreme Court ruled that the prohibitions against discrimination “because of sex” contained in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 extend to protect gay and transgender employees against workplace discrimination.
The legal definition of workplace sexual harassment differs depending where you live and what laws apply. Across North America, however, the behaviour and conduct that constitute sexual harassment are quite consistent across jurisdictions. Generally, sexual harassment is defined as conduct or comments that are known (or should reasonably be known) to be unwelcome. The
If an organization has become toxic by enabling sexual harassment to thrive, it will require time and effort to fix, says Bay Ryley, founder and president of workplace e-learning company Ryley Learning. “A toxic workplace is not just one bad incident or one botched investigation — it’s the infiltration of inappropriate behaviours and responses," Ryley tells AdvocateDaily.com. “Once an organization has reached
Sexual harassment in the workplace can have a devastating impact on an organization’s brand and corporate reputation — as is apparent from the lawsuits, scandals and #MeToo revelations that have cast a negative shadow on a number of industries, says Toronto human rights and employment lawyer Bay Ryley. Lawmakers across North America are making workplace training mandatory
As the Law Society of Ontario (LSO) highlights the importance of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) — and there's a growing awareness of the need to tackle sexual harassment in the workplace — training for lawyers and paralegals is more essential than ever before, says Toronto human rights and employment lawyer Bay Ryley. While Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety
Using innovative methods to educate employers and employees on sexual harassment in the workplace is proving to be an effective strategy, says Toronto human rights and employment lawyer Bay Ryley. Under Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act, employers must now have a workplace sexual harassment policy and provide training for all workers, she tells AdvocateDaily.com “The training
Toronto employment and human rights lawyer Bay Ryley is having early success with a program that uses personable animation to deliver an impactful message to help North American employers scrambling to train staff about sexual harassment. Ryley, founder and president of Ryley Learning, recently landed two major clients with hundreds of employees, Dentsu Aegis, a multinational media network and FreshBooks, a cloud-based
Implementing meaningful sexual harassment training will not only reduce harm in the workplace, it may also limit liability and protect against reputational damage should misconduct occur, Toronto human rights and employment lawyer Bay Ryley tells AdvocateDaily.com. “If there’s a demonstrated failure to take appropriate action against sexual harassment in the workplace, it can affect the bottom line,”
