According to Ontario’s Bill 168, Amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act (2010), workplace harassment may include “bullying, intimidating or offensive jokes or innuendos, displaying or circulating offensive pictures or materials, or offensive or intimidating phone calls.”

The Act regulates workplace violence and harassment in the province. It broadened the definition of workplace violence and placed new requirements on employers in Ontario. Workplace violence means:

  • The exercise of physical force by a person against a worker, in a workplace, that causes or could cause physical injury to the worker
  • An attempt to exercise physical force against a worker, in a workplace, that could cause physical injury to the worker
  • A statement or behaviour that it is reasonable for a worker to interpret as a threat to exercise physical force against the worker, in a workplace, that could cause physical injury to the worker

Under Bill 168, employers are required to:

  • Prepare policies with respect to workplace violence and workplace harassment
  • Develop and maintain programs to implement their policies
  • Provide information and instruction to workers on the contents of these policies and programs

Workplace violence programs must include measures and procedures to:

  • Summon help immediately when workplace violence occurs or is likely to occur
  • Control the risks identified in the risk assessment
  • Allow workers to report violence and harassment incidents
  • Set out how the employer will investigate and deal with incidents or complaints

For more information