4. Find out about making a complaint to the Ministry of Labour

Workplace harassment is a series of comments or actions that the person knows you don't like.

It can also include things they should know that you don't like, even if you have not told them.

Here are some examples of behaviour that could be harassment:

• making jokes or comments that insult you
• showing offensive pictures or other materials at work
• making phone calls or sending emails that scare or offend you
• behaving in a sexual way that you don't want
• doing things to embarrass you

Most workers in Ontario are covered by the rules in the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). The OHSA says that your employer must try to protect you from harassment, by doing things like looking into any complaints and having a workplace harassment policy.

If your employer isn't following the OHSA or their own harassment policy, you can make a complaint to the Ministry of Labour. You do this by calling the Ministry's Health and Safety Contact Centre at 1-877-202-0008.

You can call them any time. You don't have to talk to your supervisor about the problem first.

You can make your complaint without giving your name. But your employer might still figure out that it was you.

The Ministry of Labour might send an investigator to your workplace. The investigator may talk to you, other workers, or your employer to find out what happened.

The investigator won't make a decision about the harassment that happened to you. And they can't order your employer to follow their own policies or programs.

The investigator can only look at whether your employer has followed the law. They decide whether your employer's way of dealing with harassment complaints is good enough. If not, they can order your employer to:

• make a workplace harassment policy, if they don't have one
• post the policy they have
• change the policy

Your employer is not allowed to punish you for making a complaint.