Manitoba Justice ordered to pay $75K to former youth centre employee for sexual harassment

WARNING: This story contains language some readers will find offensive.

A Manitoba man who was harassed for years because of his sexual orientation when he worked at a Winnipeg youth jail says he hopes a $75,000 judgment against Manitoba Justice services as "a wake-up call."

In a 36-page decision delivered Thursday, the Manitoba Human Rights Commission found Manitoba Justice failed to provide a safe, respectful workplace for the former corrections worker at the Manitoba Youth Centre.

Adjudicator Sherri Walsh ordered the province to pay the man $75,000 in compensation for "injury to his dignity, feelings and self-respect."

"Being harassed on the basis of his sexual orientation was so pervasive at MYC that it became a term or condition of T.M.'s employment," said Walsh.

She said Manitoba Justice was repeatedly made aware of the harassment by the employee, and did nothing to stop it.

This is the first time the Manitoba Human Rights Commission has dealt with a complaint involving harassment because of sexual orientation. It's also the first time an adjudicator has had to decide whether an employer failed to address allegations, when the employer was not the party directly accused of the harassment.

Under a publication ban, the victim cannot be named. He is referred to in the commission's decision as T.M.

"It is the duty of all employers to make the workplace safe and free from harassment. I hope this is a wake-up call to all of Manitoba Justice," T.M. told CBC News after learning he won his case.

"Justice — how ironic."

The assistant executive director of the Manitoba Human Rights Commission says employees are still too often forced to tolerate discrimination in the workplace.

"We know this kind of conduct has an impact on not only their well being, but the health of their families and communities," said Karen Sharma.

'Hurtful and humiliating'

During the three-week hearing, which took place in September, T.M. — who started working at the youth centre as a counsellor in 2002 — testified he would be introduced to new employees by senior staff as "T. the gay guy" or with derogatory references to sexual activities.

Homophobic slurs were used to refer to T.M. "at least four times a week," Walsh wrote in her decision.

T.M. said about while talking to a co-worker a year into his employment, he acknowledged that he was gay. Other co-workers soon knew about his sexual orientation. 

T.M. said the jokes about his sexuality went from "mildly funny, to not so funny," then escalated to "hurtful and humiliating."

He eventually had enough, and wrote an email to his colleagues saying their jokes were hurtful. T.M. said instead of addressing the alleged harassment, his supervisor chastised him for not going through the "proper chain of command."

The supervisor brought T.M. and another co-worker together to talk about the allegations and said they should "just give each other a hug and call it a day."

"He said people would ask him how his weekend was and make a gesture to him of giving oral sex," the decision noted, "or they would say to him: 'You're walking normal so obviously you didn't get f--ked this weekend.'"

In 2009, T.M. suffered a panic attack in the parking lot when he arrived for his shift at the youth centre. He was taken to Health Sciences Centre and put on anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication.

He was off work for five weeks, but as soon as he returned, the harassment started up again.

In 2010 he was on medical leave for a month. When his medical leave ended, his doctor suggested he be moved out of the Manitoba Youth Centre.

T.M was given an administrative job with Manitoba Justice. He stayed there until the end of March 2011, when he was sent back to the Manitoba Youth Centre — and the harassment resumed.

Complaint filed in 2013

In July 2012, T.M. developed a herniated disc and was moved to another administrative job outside the MYC. In February 2013, with the position coming to an end, T.M. filed a formal complaint with Manitoba Justice regarding the harassment at the youth centre, saying he could not go back to working in such a "toxic and dysfunctional environment."

A manager said she sympathized with him but couldn't do anything unless he was prepared to identify individuals responsible.

A month later he reached out to human resources and was told the same thing. HR representatives met with senior management and decided that "since T.M. was not willing to come forward with the names of the individuals who allegedly harassed him, the file should be closed."

My fight was never about just me. My main goal was to make positive changes in the workplace so this would not happen to others.- T.M.

For the next two years, T.M. reached out to his union, the civil service commissioner, the new Manitoba Justice human resources director, and even his MLA, then NDP minister Jennifer Howard.

By the summer of 2014, T.M. agreed to name names. An investigation was conducted — 19 months after T.M. had filed the formal complaint and wrote a three-page letter detailing years of harassment at work.

The investigation, though, mostly focused on an incident in which T.M. alleged a co-worker sexually assaulted him at a party by grabbing his genitals. It concluded that the allegations couldn't be substantiated.

Recommendations not followed

The report made three recommendations including ongoing educational workshops on the topics of respect in the workplace and LGBTQ issues. Neither of those workshops took place.

T.M. was on medical leave from 2014-2017 when he finally quit his job.

"In this case, whether or not the allegations T.M. brought forward were true, they were of such a serious and explicit nature that they demanded the respondent take steps to address them," the human rights commission decision reads.

"Instead, however, the respondent's response in March 2013, shortly after receiving the complaint was simply to close the file."

In addition to financial compensation, Walsh ordered the province to conduct training on harassment, and designate a respectful workplace advisor for staff at the Winnipeg youth jail.

"My fight was never about just me," T.M. told CBC News on Friday.

"My main goal was to make positive changes in the workplace so this would not happen to others."