CUPE 21 is looking to overturn a decision made by the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) and the City of Regina regarding damages sought due to workplace sexual harassment.
Organizations are requesting to join the application, including the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour, Regina District Labour Council, Retail Wholesale & Department Store Union Saskatchewan Joint Board, Saskatchewan Government Employees Union and the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission.
They believe whatever decision is reached by the court will have an impact on every worker in Saskatchewan.
The city of Regina asked that documents from the WCB’s previous decision on the matter be provided. The city, the compensation board and the attorney general agreed.
They believe these records will allow the court to properly decide if the organizations should be allowed to join the application or not.
The board must provide the documents by March 31. A new hearing date will be decided then.
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A past decision made by the WCB has barred employees from seeking damages relating to harm due to workplace harassment.
The union filed an application with the Court of King’s Bench to reverse the decision, saying that the WCB agreed with the city’s request that workers are barred from seeking money in regard to Section 40 of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code. That section of the Code states a person could receive a maximum of $20,000 in compensation.
“…the court may order the person who has contravened or is contravening that provision to pay any compensation to the person injured by that contravention that the court may determine, to a maximum of $20,000, if the court finds that a person has willfully and recklessly contravened or is willfully and recklessly contravening this Act or any other Act administered by the commission; or the person injured by a contravention of this Act or any other Act administered by the commission has suffered with respect to dignity, feelings or self-respect as a result of the contravention,” the Human Rights Code reads.
A release sent by CUPE 21 said harassment based on a number of characteristics is an ongoing issue facing the union and the City of Regina’s outside workers.
It noted that if this decision is allowed to stand it will set a precedent that workers across Saskatchewan won’t have full access to remedies under the Human Rights Code.
– with files from Global News’ Brody Langager
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