What rules can employers set down for workplace relationships?
Apparently a CEO cannot away with behaviour that Captain Kirk engaged in on a regular basis: affairs with a subordinate. The times, as they say, are changing. I cannot comment on the legalities of the Boeing CEO’s termination as it would have been governed by American law. But what rules can employer’s set down for workplace relationships? It is not clear whether the CEO was terminated because he was have an extra-marital affair or because he had an intimate relationship with a subordinate. If the termination had taken place in Canada, and it was motivated by the fact that the CEO was married rather than single, at first glance, he would have a valid claim under the Human Rights Code for discrimination on the basis of his marital status. The Ontario Human Rights Code, as well as similar legislation in every other province, prohibits discrimination on the basis of one’s marital status. Marital status has been interpreted by the courts to include common law spouses, fiancées and even the
