In the midst of the pandemic, federally regulated employers and the unions representing their employees have been tasked with taking significant new steps to combat workplace harassment and violence. Bill C-65 and the Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations require employers and unions to 1) jointly assess workplaces in order to identify risk factors that contribute to harassment and violence; 2) put in place measures that mitigate identified risks; 3) establish emergency procedures for situations in which violence and harassment pose an immediate danger to employee health and safety; and 4) establish and implement new procedures to respond to allegations of workplace violence and harassment. In this webinar, leading experts will examine these new obligations in detail, paying special attention to emerging best practices. Specific questions to be addressed include the following:

• What are the most significant legislative changes? What does it mean to be a designated recipient or a principal party? What are the key deadlines?
• On what matters are employers and workplace policy committees (or health and safety committees in smaller workplaces) expected to act jointly? What happens when the employer and the committee are unable to agree on a matter that requires them to act jointly?
• How should workplace parties identify risks of workplace violence and harassment? What are the risk factors that parties should look for? What are some examples of measures that could mitigate common risks?
• What harassment and violence training should be provided to employees, employers, and designated recipients?
• When would an incident that takes place outside the workplace properly form the subject of a notice of occurrence (i.e. allegation of harassment or violence) that must be investigated?
• What are the key elements of the required response to a notice of occurrence? What role does the policy committee or the health and safety committee play in responding? What role do negotiated resolutions, conciliations, and investigations play?
• When is an investigation necessary? How should an investigator be chosen? What qualifications must an investigator possess?
• What reporting obligations are created by the Regulations? What must be included in monthly status updates provided to a principal party and a responding party when an investigation is ongoing? What must be contained in the investigation report?
• What is the experience of employers and unions in implementing Bill C-65 obligations so far? What best practices are emerging? What key pitfalls are becoming evident?