A recent decision from the Ontario Court of
Appeal clarified when a poisoned work environment will constitute
constructive dismissal from employment. The employee in this case
claimed that he had been subjected to "discriminatory
treatment in the workplace based on racism". The facts of the
case are relatively complicated but the case provides an outline of
the test for whether or not a workplace has been
poisoned.
The facts, in a nutshell, are as follows:
The plaintiff-employee, Yohann Johnson, claimed that another
employee, Alex Markov, refused to participate in mandatory
training, conducted by Johnson, because of Johnson's race.
According to Markov, his reason for not attending training with
Johnson was because of insensitive comments Johnson made about the
murder of Markov's brother. The employer, General Motors of
Canada Limited (GM), investigated the incident numerous times
and was unable to find evidence that Markov's conduct was
racially motivated.
