Discussing Worker’s Job Status ≠ Bullying & Harassment

A worker said she deserved workers’ comp benefits for mental stress benefits resulting from threatening and bullying comments by management during a pair of meetings discussing a non-disciplinary performance matter. The Workers’ Comp Appeals Tribunal agreed. But the court found the ruling ‘patently unreasonable’ and in violation of WCB policy regarding coverage of mental stress. While the meetings did address the worker’s job status, they were performance-based and hardly abusive. ‘One can easily imagine harassment in the context of demands concomitant upon threats to a worker’s continued employment that are more egregious than the conduct in this case,’ the court reasoned [Bendera v Workers’ Compensation Appeal Tribunal, 2018 BCSC 552 (CanLII), April 6, 2018].