Since the psychological harassment provisions of the Labour Standards Act came into force in Quebec three years ago, non-unionized employees have filed 6,850 complaints. Ninety-seven percent of the complaints that were filed were settled while being processed by the Commission des Normes du Travail (the "CNT") and, as a result, only 438 complaints were referred to the Commission des Relations du Travail (the "CRT") for a hearing and decision. Of these, 202 were settled out of court.
The CNT’S analysis of the complaints revealed that 63% of them were filed by women, and that 95% involved repeat acts. In 75% of cases, the alleged harasser was the employer or one of its representatives. The CNT found that half the employees who filed a complaint had previously made vain attempts to take steps with their employer. Meanwhile, 38% of the other complainants had not reported the situation to their employer before filing a complaint.
