Record High Damages For Workplace Sexual Misconduct In Landmark Human Rights Decision

A recent decision of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario has sent a strong message that there is no place for sexual misconduct in the workplace. In O.P.T. v. Presteve Foods Ltd.,¹ the Tribunal awarded record high damages to two sisters who had been subjected to unwanted sexual solicitations and advances, including sexual assaults, by their employer.

Background

The facts of this case are egregious. The sisters, O.P.T. and M.P.T., had come to Canada from Mexico under the Government of Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker Program in order to work for Presteve Foods Ltd. ("Presteve"), which operates a fish processing plant in Wheatley, Ontario. The sisters brought an application to the Tribunal containing numerous and serious allegations of misconduct by Presteve's owner, including but not limited to: