Harassed Employees Have Options

The law now leans towards workers as harassed employees are no longer without a legal remedy.   

Workplace abuse may have been obvious but rarely did it amount to a paid vacation.

Employees faced with a workplace abuser used to visit their doctor for a prescription or a note requesting a leave of absence.  Except in extraordinary cases, employees were without a legal remedy, as courts had little, if any, appetite to walk into the workplace and order bosses to be nicer to their subordinates.  The reality for most: either leave - or lose - your job. 

But the abuser no longer gets to act with legal impunity.  Now, equipped with the knowledge that he or she can sue for significant damages, tormented employees call their employment lawyer.

Just as I discussed in my May 2, 2007 Metro News Column (read here) employees have options when it comes to an abusive boss:

-- Where abuse leaves an employee's job objectively intolerable, she should resign and sue for constructive dismissal, but only after first discussing the merits of your case with me.

-- Request that a workplace investigation be commenced to substantiate allegations of an abusive boss.

-- If there is a discriminatory motive, consider commencing a complaint at the Ontario Human Rights Commission.

Employees no longer have to hide in a legal box, without recourse.  When it comes to an abusive boss, legal options do exist.