Early this year, the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal chartered
into new territory when it awarded an employee $150,000 in damages
for injury to dignity, feelings and self-respect that were caused
by the employer's egregious violation of the employee's
human rights.
The Decision
The case, O.P.T. v. Presteve Foods Ltd., 2015 HRTO 675, involved
two sisters, O.P.T. and M.P.T., who came from Mexico as temporary
foreign workers to work for the employer. The sisters alleged that
the owner and principal operator of the employer continually and
repeatedly sexually assaulted them. The allegations of sexual
assault included: slapping their buttocks; touching their breasts
over their clothing; sexually propositioning the sisters; forcibly
hugging and kissing O.P.T.; forcing O.P.T. to perform fellatio on
multiple occasions; and forcing O.P.T to have sex with him on
multiple occasions. All of the above were done on the threat of
dismissal. The sisters were particularly vulnerable
