Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), there continues to be more information posted online about specific workplace situations from which we can all learn. This piece of information comes from Canadian Case Law, where an employer was required to pay well over $190,000 due to a rash decision that led to a wrongful termination.
FACTS:
In the McGraw v. Southgate Township 2021 ONSC 7000 court case, there was a volunteer fire department in Ontario where the only two paid positions were the Fire Chief and the Administrative Assistant. The plaintiff in this case was a female Fire Captain and Administrative Assistant to the Fire Chief. Technically, the Fire Captain part of her role was voluntary, but the Administrative Assistant side of the role was paid.
The plaintiff was terminated without cause due to numerous rumors circulating in the workplace. These rumors included allegations that she sent inappropriate photos of herself to various male firefighters, was having affairs with various male firefighters, including the Chief, was texting excessively with a male firefighter, was causing other firefighters to quit, caused morale problems in the workplace, gave passing grades to male firefighters in a course she taught if they had sex with her, helped a firefighter cheat on a test, and was the subject of rumors from other fire departments.
The court found these rumors to be mostly unfounded, malicious, and sexist falsehoods. This led to $190,000 in damages on top of six months’ notice owed to the plaintiff! The damages were broken down further in the case notes as:
Moral Damages: $75,000
Discrimination under the Ontario Human Rights Code: $35,000
Defamation: $20,000
Punitive Damages: $60,000
WHERE DID IT ALL GO WRONG?
There were a number of items that the judge took into account when making their decision on the case:
The rumors and accusations were found to be unsubstantiated hearsay, heard from others but with no evidence to support them,
There were no policies in place regarding romantic relationships in the workplace,
No witness statements were provided in the court proceedings,
Little to no documentation was provided to the court by the employer,
An HR Consultant provided assistance with the termination of the employee, but the Employer was found to have misled the HR Consultant,
There was no formal workplace investigation.
WHAT TO LEARN:
Fair and thorough workplace investigations are absolutely essential to ensure situations like these do not happen to your business. You could also hire third parties, like Stenson HR Consulting, to conduct these impartial investigations at a much lower cost than the final price tag of $190,000. The investigations would document the allegations, the evidence (if any) that supports the allegations, and the witness statements.
Other items to consider:
Have a strong Workplace Violence and Harassment Policy,
Have a policy on relationships in the workplace,
Substantiate the allegations if you’re going to use them as a reason to terminate,
Ensure a workplace investigation takes place using a third party, like Stenson HR Consulting,
Ensure a workplace investigation report is produced with all the evidence documented and a final verdict,
If you’re going to use a third party for support, be honest with them because they are basing their decisions on the information you provide to them.
Having a strong HR department to track and investigate allegations against employees is crucial. In this case, it would have proven that the allegations were unfounded and did not warrant further action. From there, HR could have investigated why these allegations were made in the first place and potentially find that there were some issues to address in the company dynamics.
Ultimately, this is an extreme case to review with such an interesting outcome. It serves as a learning opportunity for employers to ensure that they are treating allegations appropriately, investigating where necessary, and documenting everything along the way. Not all businesses are fortunate enough to have an HR department, and in these situations, you can utilize third-party investigators or HR Consulting Firms. When you bring on third-party support, be open and honest with them to ensure they provide the best support.
If you have any questions about workplace investigations, please do not hesitate to reach out to Thomas Stenson at Stenson HR Consulting, and we can grab a coffee to discuss further.
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