Canadian Lawyer InHouse

JULY/AUGUST 2019 28 INHOUSE Several women spoke publicly that they had felt uncomfortable in the presence of Biden, who has a well-known habit of touch- ing and sometimes hugging people he inter- acts with as a politician. The allegations never suggested there was sexual intent in Biden's actions but that they were inappropriate. In a video he issued in early April, there was not an explicit apology from Biden, but he did acknowledge changing societal views. "The boundaries of protecting personal space have been reset. And I get it," he said. At the same time, Biden went on to stress the importance of "connecting with people" not only in politics but in life. After a short burst of publicity, the potential political prob - lems for him on this issue appeared to recede. The Biden example, while involving a politician, still has relevance to workplaces in general because it highlights common is - sues in this area, such as the lack of real- ization that one's behaviour is upsetting to others, notes Vancouver lawyer Melanie Samuels. "There are different social mores now. Whether someone intended it or not is not necessarily relevant," adds Samuels, a partner at Singleton Urquhart Reynolds Vogel LLP in Vancouver and co-chairper - son of its employment and labour group. "Sometimes, the smaller stuff can be more insidious [in a workplace]," she says. The #MeToo movement raised consider- able awareness about inappropriate sexual conduct, both in and outside the work envi- ronment. However, the media has also pop- ularized the notion of a backlash, suggest- ing that the rules on what is acceptable are unclear, unfair to men and some individuals are too easily offended by behaviour that is not inappropriate. Elizabeth Bingham, a lawyer, workplace trainer and investigator at Rubin Thomlin - son LLP in Toronto, agrees that incidents where there might be some ambiguity about the seriousness of the conduct are increas- ingly common. "The volume of the work we do has cer- tainly increased. There are more complaints and more investigations, but not necessarily the extreme examples," Bingham notes. The challenge for employers, then, is to educate their workforce to better under - stand what the boundaries are and what processes are in place if a complaint has been filed. "These are workplaces. Ultimately, you are hoping everyone will get along," says Wendy Hulton, a partner at Dickinson Wright LLP in Toronto and a member of its employment group. This requires the development of training ELIZABETH BINGHAM SAYS INCIDENTS WHERE THERE MIGHT BE SOME AMBIGUITY ABOUT THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE CONDUCT ARE INCREASINGLY COMMON. "I THINK THERE ARE MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR A MISINTERPRETATION GENERALLY." LISA CABEL

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