Workplace 'Customer' Harassment

[Shrugged]

Hey out there,
Trying to help a friend of mine with an issue shes having at work... Lets call her Cindy.
There is a woman customer who has a long standing grudge with the agency Cindy works for.
This woman is constantly coming in and screaming at Cindy (as Cindy is the one this woman has to deal with directly to complain, and no she's not a customer service agent, there are non for this agency), complaining about any possible thing she can find. Furthermore, this woman will go to local MP offices and file complaints about both the agency and Cindy using her name and labeling her as a discriminating person.

These are false accusations and Cindy has been nothing but professional with this woman. This woman has called police to come into the agency, investigating false and and or exaggerated claims again using my friends name.

Just recently the woman has filed a ridiculous law suit against the agency, again using Cindy's name in the process.

Cindy is a wreck and cant face this woman without uncontrollably trembling. This woman is in the building every day as the agency cant seem to legally ban her from coming in (This is a recreational facility)

Is there anything Cindy can do aside from demanding someone else at the agency deal with this woman when she has he 'issues'. Cindy would feel a lot safer at her workplace knowing this woman was no longer allowed to come near the place.

Any ideas? advice I can pass on?

*** I should also note that this is her dream job and she'd hate to leave, the only problem is this woman.

 

[5hummer]

Has "Cindy" or the office have any logs/video/sound/evidence or eye-witness' to corroborate Cindy's abuse?

 

[Shrugged]

Cindy has staff of her own that have wittnessed her outbursts and are afraid to deal with this woman themselves.
Nothing electronic though.

 

[Captain Fantastic]

I'm going on the premise that your story is on the up-and-up (I don't know you or 'Cindy' and cannot verify the veracity of the claims.)

Is this a publicly-funded agency? If so, unless there is an imminent threat of violence, etc., against the staff it will be very difficult to ban the harasser. If not, they can simply find a way to ban the woman from the premises. It's not that hard.

'Cindy' will need to document each and every instance of this woman's "harassment" (without more details, I'm not sure I can call it that) - past and current - and her own re/actions when dealing with her. From this point on, she should record every conversation. Build up a case and then have the harassing woman banned or warned by law enforcement.

Will not be easy. Does 'Cindy' have a boss? If so, that is her first stop - what does s/he say about the issue? Who's in charge of this agency - they should be given a report by 'Cindy' including as much documentation and exact quotes as possible.

I would suggest a quiet word with the MP's office to see what has been said and then see if they can speak with the woman. Next would be speaking with the police once a file of all of the past "harassments" has been created.


Having been on the front lines in a public situation, I can tell you that more often than not, the person is just seeking an audience or attention. Until the matter is resolved, 'Cindy' should use humour amongst her colleagues and friends to just laugh off the situation - hell, even openly mock the harasser (not on audio/video) to mess with her - or else let this one individual ruin her "dream job."

 

[Shrugged]

Thanks so much!
I'll pass all of this on!

 

[mruptonogood]

Anyone can be banned from any property whether Private/retail business/Goverment Owned.
All Property becomes PRIVATE PROPERTY in the case of an unwanted Visitor and can most definitely lead to a Trepass to Property Notice and Subsequent Charge under the Trespass to Property Act. Beligerant Behaviour qualifies and either property private security or in the absence of Security, local Police Department can be called.There is no such thing as not being able to order someone off ANY Property if it is deemed their presence creates problems.
PERIOD.
Cindy may also apply to A Justice of The Peace for a Restraining order where she goes in and simply presents her case to a qualified Judge presiding over issuance of Restraining/No Contact Orders. If this order is Granted then this other lady would likely be prohibited by the restraining order from entering the building as it would defy the distance aspect of said order. By the way, this process is not that complicated and can be done rather quickly.
There is also something called a section 810 ( Peace Bond) and if issued when obtaining a restraining order then bamm, violation gets her arrested, held and fined.

 

[HOF]

Well there are ways to combat this whether it is a public or private agency.

1. If Cindy feels intimidated or threatened by this woman and she is being caused undue stress and her superiors are not fending off the situation, there is a Provincial law regarding workplace harrassment and violence. This law covers every angle, co-workers, supervisors, clients.

2. Cindy should inform her superiors that she will not deal with this specific woman, get a doctors note if required because of abuse/harassment/threats. If their is a union available to Cindy, she should have them involved.

3. If Cindy still is left in harm's way, she should do a work refusal, her immediate supervisor will take her to somewhere safe in the agency, and the Ministry of Labour becomes involved. Cindy should go and speak with her city councillor, MPP and MP. If this is a recreation centre, she should ask through her union to speak with the Director.

4. In most, if not all, recreation agencies and facilities there are codes of conduct posted, and it is very easy to have someone banned for abusive, intimidating or threatening behaviour.

5. Keep copies of all those frivilous complaints to demonstrate this person's abusiveness, and file your own lawsuit.

 

[mruptonogood]

Hof...the workplace law does not cover clients as they can be removed by police whereas dealing with other employees supervisors etc does fall under the workplace laws. This is really a tough one and can take months to resolve but like I said, clients are not covered.

 

[landscaper]

the young lady is still entitled to a safe workplace, her supervisor should be dealing with this person instead of her. A court order can also restrict access to the property if the person involved is considered dangerous. This last is difficult and time consuming .

 

[HOF]

Hof...the workplace law does not cover clients as they can be removed by police whereas dealing with other employees supervisors etc does fall under the workplace laws. This is really a tough one and can take months to resolve but like I said, clients are not covered.

I could be wrong on the client part; then she needs to do a work refusal and request to be placed in a safe area and have MOL attend. The abuser should be removed or detained. In my field things work more inside the box.

 

[HOF]

I found it! Ontario Health & Occupational Safety Act

1. Violence
2. Harassment

Harassment piece is the employee is being harrassed by a client continuously, the employee has notified the supervisor(s). This is a fine line, but can be utilized there is potential for violence. This is where the management need to act. The employee does a work refusal and the MOL is called in under the OHSA. The MOL determines safety standard and if further investigation is required. Hope this helps.
http://www.yorku.ca/ddoorey/lawblog/?p=1042

introduced recently by the Ontario government. Here is a nice summary of the Bill by the law firm McCarthy Tetrault’s labour group.

The law would require employers to develop and post policies on workplace violence and harassment. “Violence” is defined as the use of ‘physical force’. Probably the most controversial item in the Bill is the requirement for the employer to inform workers when the will be working with a person with a history of violence and the “risk of workplace violence was likely to expose the worker to physical injury.” That will require some careful decision-making by employers.

The ‘harassment’ definition borrows from the Human Rights Code language: ”engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct against a worker in a workplace that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome.” Notably, though, unlike the prohibition on harassment under the HRC, the harassment policy required under the OHSA would not be limited to specific grounds (like sex, age, creed, etc.). In other words, employers would now be required to have a policy that addresses harassment at work generally. Under the new law, a worker will be able to refuse work when there is a risk of workplace violence, but not when they are victims of harassment.

Of course, an employee who is the victim of harassment at work may be able to sue her employer for breach of contract or constructive dismissal, especially if the employer was aware of the harassment and failed to stop it. The new requirement to post a harassment policy must include a method for employees to report harassment. So, the new OHSA obligation may work in tandem with the common law obligation on employers to maintain a harassment free workplace: an employee who is suffering harassment will be told how to report it, and if she reports it, and the employer fails to adequately respond, the employee’s breach of contract argument would be stronger.

Workplace harassment is now governed, therefore, by a range of mechanisms, including: (1) the Human Rights Code in Section 5(2) in relation to designated grounds; and (2) the common law rules of contract in the form of an implied obligation on employers to treat workers decently, a duty that includes an obligation to maintain a harassment free workplace. The new law would add a third regime by requiring employers to maintain a harassment policy relating to all harassment

 

[Diode]

the young lady is still entitled to a safe workplace, her supervisor should be dealing with this person instead of her. A court order can also restrict access to the property if the person involved is considered dangerous. This last is difficult and time consuming .

And the supervisor is not entitled to a safe workplace?

 

[Tokyo Heights]

Canada has become a hot bed for work harassement, as when a complaint is lodged no one is serious into looking after them seriously, therefore the employer has a upper hand and treat his workers and its work force like his slaves, the rules for Employers are much better than for workers which is pretty sad in a democratic and liberal country like Canada.

 

[wazup]

Hire a PI to document it, he could be a bystander and be recording it the whole time. I did it to a RE agebt that was trying to fuck me, had a 1200$ cheque from him in an awful hurry.