Workplace harassment and violence are defined in the laws of Saskatchewan. Sexual harassment is also defined in these laws.
Workplace sexual harassment almost always negatively impacts those who experience it. A Statistics Canada Study about workplace sexual harassment found that those who have experienced it were:
The Saskatchewan Employment Act sets out three kinds of harassment. Each of these three have some common elements.
There must be an inappropriate act. This can be any conduct, comment, display, action or gesture.
The person doing the harassing can be anyone. They can be a customer, co-worker or manager. The harassment must be directed towards a worker. A worker is anyone who is performing on the job for an employer. For the purposes of workplace harassment, this includes volunteers and contractors.
The first type of harassment is based on a prohibited grounds from human rights laws. Prohibited grounds are things like race and sexual orientation. Harassment based on someone’s physical size or weight is also covered here even though that is not a prohibited ground. This type of harassment must rise to the level of threatening the worker’s health or safety.
The second type of harassment is based on causing a worker to be negatively affected through physical or mental harm. It is necessary to show that the harasser knew or ought to have known that they were causing the worker to be humiliated or intimidated. In this case, harassment can be established through repeated conduct. It can also be established through a single incident that caused the worker serious harm. This type of harassment must also rise to the level of threatening the health or safety of the worker.
The third type is specific to sexual harassment. It occurs when the harassment is sexual in nature. In this case, it is not necessary to show that there was a negative effect on the worker. All that is required is that the harasser knew or ought to have known that the conduct was unwelcome.
For those working in a federally regulated business, the Canada Labour Code has one definition for both harassment and violence, being:
The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations set out the definition of workplace violence as any attempted, threatened or actual conduct by a person that causes or is likely to cause injury. It includes any threatening statement or behaviour that gives a worker reasonable cause to believe that the worker is at risk of injury.
Workplace violence includes things like:
Workplace violence includes psychological violence through things like teasing and bullying.
This site provides general information about workplace sexual harassment only. It is not a substitute for receiving legal advice about your situation. Request a Referral to receive 4 hours of free legal advice.
The Shift Project is funded by the Department of Justice and delivered by the Public Legal Education Association of Saskatchewan (PLEA).