Workplace Bullying Institute, January 21st, 2011.
While we slog through state houses countering disingenuous business lobby arguments as to why there should be no anti-bullying law, our Canadian friends continue to expand their OHS (workplace health and safety) regulations to deal with bullying. Effective Feb. 1, 2011, Manitoba will require (not just encourage) employers to create policies to prevent and correct harassment considered a health hazard.
The new regulation (announced in Bulletin 275 in October, 2010) prohibits two kinds of harassment:
(1) “objectionable conduct” that poses a health risk and is based on grounds like all discrimination law (in Manitoba the categories include race, creed, religion, colour, sex, sexual orientation, gender-determined characteristics, marital status, family status, source of income, political belief, political association, political activity, disability, physical size or weight, age, nationality, ancestry or place of origin), and
(2) “severe conduct” that adversely affects a worker’s psychological or physical well-being.
Bullying is the second type of prohibited conduct if it could reasonably cause a worker to be humiliated or intimidated and is repeated, or in the case of a single occurrence, has a lasting, harmful effect on a worker.
Employers have to write the policy in collaboration with its health and safety committee (that necessarily includes union representatives) or workers if no committee exists.
Furthermore, a complainant reserves the right to file another complaint with the Human Rights Commission.
Read about the new regulations and download information from the official government site here.
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