Harassment & Discrimination and Workplace Violence
Do not be a jerk.
HARASSMENT & DISCRIMINATION
Zero Tolerance
Treefrog is proud of its professional and respectful work environment and will take all necessary steps to ensure that the work environment remains pleasant for all who work here. All Frogs must treat each other with courtesy, consideration and professionalism. Treefrog Inc. will not tolerate harassment, including sexual harassment and discrimination which is prohibited by the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Ontario Occupational Health & Safety Act and company policy. Harassment and/or discrimination may occur between co-workers, clients, suppliers, members of the public or any other individual that Frogs may come into contact with in the workplace. Any Frog who engages in objectionable conduct is subject to discipline up to and including termination of employment.
Harassment means engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct against a worker in a workplace that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome.
For harassment to occur under the Human Rights Code, it has to fall under one of the prohibited grounds outlined in Section 5 (1) and (2) of the Code:
Employment 5. (1) Every person has a right to equal treatment with respect to employment without discrimination because of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, record of offences, marital status, family status or disability. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19, s. 5 (1); 1999, c. 6, s. 28 (5); 2001, c. 32, s. 27 (1); 2005, c. 5, s. 32 (5); 2012, c. 7, s. 4 (1).
Harassment in employment (2) Every person who is an Frog has a right to freedom from harassment in the workplace by the employer or agent of the employer or by another Frog because of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, record of offences, marital status, family status or disability. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19, s. 5 (2); 1999, c. 6, s. 28 (6); 2001, c. 32, s. 27 (1); 2005, c. 5, s. 32 (6); 2012, c. 7, s. 4 (2).
For harassment to occur under the Occupational Health & Safety Act, it does not have to be related to one of the prohibited grounds. This type of harassment can be referred to as “Personal Harassment” which is most often considered bullying, or emotional or psychological harassment.
Discrimination is not defined in the Code but usually includes the following elements:
- not individually assessing the unique merits, capacities and circumstances of a person
- instead, making stereotypical assumptions based on a person’s presumed traits
- having the impact of excluding persons, denying benefits or imposing burdens.
An employee who believes that he or she has been subject to any type of harassment should immediately contact his or her Pod-Champion and the CEO directly.
Sexual Harassment
The Human Rights Code also prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace.
Harassment because of sex in workplaces (2) Every person who is an Frog has a right to freedom from harassment in the workplace because of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression by his or her employer or agent of the employer or by another Frog. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19, s. 7 (2); 2012, c. 7, s. 6 (2).
Sexual solicitation by a person in position to confer benefit, etc. (3) Every person has a right to be free from, (a) a sexual solicitation or advance made by a person in a position to confer, grant or deny a benefit or advancement to the person where the person making the solicitation or advance knows or ought reasonably to know that it is unwelcome; or
(b) a reprisal or a threat of reprisal for the rejection of a sexual solicitation or advance where the reprisal is made or threatened by a person in a position to confer, grant or deny a benefit or advancement to the person. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19, s. 7 (3).
Under the OHSA, workplace sexual harassment is defined as: a) Engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct against a worker in a workplace because of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, where the course of comment or conduct is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome, or b) Making a sexual solicitation or advance where the person making the solicitation or advance is in a position to confer, grant or deny a benefit or advancement to the worker and the person knows or ought reasonably to know that the solicitation or advance is unwelcome.
An employee who feels he or she has suffered from harassment or discrimation, or sexual harassment, should first make it known to the harasser that the conduct or behaviour is unwelcome or offensive and that they would like the behaviour to stop. Frogs should also report such incidents to his or pod leader or to a third party (HR Performance & Results, 705.719.7962) if the Treefrog or the pod leader is the alleged harasser. The complaint must be reported as soon as possible after the action or behaviour occurs.
In response to every complaint, Treefrog will take prompt investigative actions and corrective and preventive actions where necessary. A Frog who brings such a complaint to the attention of Treefrog Inc. in good faith will not be adversely affected as a result of reporting workplace harassment, sexual harassment and/or discrimination.
The investigator will conduct a full and objective investigation. He or she will interview the complainant, present the allegations to the harasser or the individual accused of discrimination and interview any and all witnesses. All Frogs have a responsibility to co-operate in an investigation.
At the conclusion of the investigation, the worker who is allegedly experiencing the workplace harassment and the alleged harasser, if he or she is a worker of the employer, as well as all other parties involved in the investigation will be informed of the results of the investigation either verbally or in writing and of any corrective action that has been or will be taken as a result.
If the investigation concludes that an individual engaged in conduct that would be considered a violation of the Occupational Health & Safety Act, the Ontario Human Rights Code and/or company policy, disciplinary action will be administered immediately. Disciplinary action will be appropriate to the offence and may include termination of employment. Unsubstantiated complaints are ones in which there is insufficient evidence to prove that harassment and/or discrimination occurred. These complaints will be closed with no disciplinary action. Complainants who made complaints in bad faith will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.
WORKPLACE VIOLENCE
Zero Tolerance
Treefrog is proud of its professional and respectful work environment and will take all necessary steps to ensure that the work environment remains pleasant for all Frogs who work here. Treefrog Inc. will not tolerate workplace violence as defined under the Ontario Occupational Health & Safety Act. Workplace Violence may occur between Frogs, contractors, clients, members of the public, etc. In addition, the company also prohibits any harassment or discrimination incidents (as defined in HS-2.0) that escalate into workplace violence. Any Frog who engages in violence is subject to discipline up to and including termination of employment.
It is the responsibility of a Frog who believes that he/she has been subjected to workplace violence and/or observed workplace violence, to report the incident to their pod leader or any other pod leader they feel most comfortable with. The complaint must be reported as soon as possible after the action or behaviour occurs.
The pod leader or Frog (if pod leader is not available) is required to take immediate action when necessary including, but not limited to; calling 911 and summoning Frogs trained in first aid if required.
If the workplace violence incident results in a critical injury or fatality, pod leaders are to follow the reporting requirements under the Ontario Occupational Health & Safety Act.
The Frog is responsible to put a formal complaint in writing and submit it to their pod leader. The complaint should include a description of the occurrence (s) or incident (s), the names of the parties, witnesses if applicable and relevant dates. It must be signed and dated by the complainant.
In response to every complaint, Treefrog Inc. will take prompt investigative actions and corrective and preventive actions where necessary. A Frog who brings such a complaint to the attention of the company in good faith will not be adversely affected as a result of reporting the workplace violence incident.
As per the Ontario Occupational Health & Safety Act, a Frog has the right to refuse work as a result of a workplace violence incident.
All workplace violence incidents require an internal investigation.
*Please refer to the H&S bulletin board in the lunchroom where full copies of each policy are posted.