Sadly, it is far too common that we hear of news headlines
involving professional athletes charged or convicted of assaulting
their partners or spouses, e.g. "Kings Defenseman Voynov
Suspended Indefinitely", and "TSN Analyst Aaron
Ward Arrested."
It should come as no surprise that professional sports teams are
not the only employers that face the complex legal and practical
challenges involved when consensual relationships between employees
break down and spill into the workplace or where an employee is the
perpetrator or victim of intimate partner violence
("IPV").
Where the perpetrator and the victim are not both employed by
the same employer, an employee's violent or abusive behavior
outside of work rarely meets the test for off-duty conduct, such
that it can be dealt with through workplace discipline. Moreover,
victims of domestic violence may not wish to disclose their
situation to a supervisor, even though their work performance or
attendance may be
