Lorraine took a job as an executive assistant. She filed a human right’s complaint after her boss sexually harassed her
Lorraine’s job only lasted five days.
She applied for a job as an executive assistant at a small company that ran a rental warehouse and rented out communal office space to small businesses.
During the interview with the CEO, where he offered her the job, he cautioned her that one client was a problem. The CEO thought this client would try to sexually intimidate Lorraine and try to have sex with her because she was pretty. Lorraine didn’t think much about the comment and started the job three days later.
That day, the boss asked her out for lunch. He told her one of her coworkers had previously been a nude model and showed her pictures he had found on the internet. When they got back to the office, he asked Lorraine to prepare a termination letter for this co-worker. It was the only thing she was given to do that day.
When the termination happened later that day, after yelling a bit, the co-worker slipped Lorraine a note on her way out. It said Lorraine should call her if the boss made sexual advances toward her.
In the afternoon of the first day of Lorraine’s job, the boss took her to a second office location at a strip mall five minutes away. There were couches and a television. They watched a movie. The boss sat beside her on the couch, but she kept her distance. After the movie was over, the boss asked for a hug and Lorraine declined.
The second day, the boss asked her to go to a nearby mall so they could buy clothing for her that accentuated her body. When she said she was uncomfortable trying things on in the store so he could see them, he said they could go back to their office to do it. Given those choices, Lorraine decided to try a few things on at the mall and the boss spent $500 on her clothing.
I will pause to note, for those of you wondering why Lorraine had not already run away, she was 22 years old and perhaps unduly optimistic.
After the shopping trip, back at the office, the boss asked Lorraine inappropriate questions about her personal life, whether she had a boyfriend or had ever been raped. The boss said he was asking these personal questions so they could have a stronger relationship.
On Lorraine’s third day at work, she took some of the clothes back to the nearby store where they had been bought.
On the fourth day, the boss told Lorraine he wanted to take their relationship to a more personal level as he felt a connection with her he had rarely experienced. As with many of the incidents, Lorraine sent contemporaneous texts to her mother, describing the boss’ behaviour.
On the fifth day, the boss asked Lorraine for a kiss on the cheek and she said no.
Lorraine did not show up the next day and told the boss she had been exposed to COVID-19. A week later, she sent in a resignation letter, saying she was leaving “due to circumstances of sexual harassment in the workplace from the date of my interview and continuously until the last day that I was present in the office.”
The note said that her treatment had left her feeling uncomfortable and unable to continue. Lorraine filed a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal and a hearing occurred. The boss was found to have sexually harassed Lorraine and was ordered to pay $16,500 in general damages for the injury to Lorraine’s dignity, feelings and self-respect arising from the sexual harassment, poisoned work environment and sexual solicitations and advances.
The thought of any woman having to endure this kind of treatment is painful. Although the damage amount awarded was not that significant, hopefully some measure of justice was achieved.
This article was originally published by The Hamilton Spectator.
