Worker’s Mental Stress Caused by Employment Decisions, Not Harassment

A school carpenter claimed that bullying and harassment by his supervisor aggravated his preexisting Generalized Anxiety Disorder. But the BC workers comp tribunal denied him benefits, finding that while the supervisor’s behaviour definitely made his anxiety worse, the carpenter’s mental stress was due mostly to decisions affecting his job status which, unlike bullying and harassment, don’t count as mental stressors for purposes of workers comp coverage. The carpenter appealed but the court found the denial reasonable and refused to overturn it [Pickering v School District No. 38 (Richmond), 2021 BCSC 1497 (CanLII), August 3, 2021].