Can my boss punish me for reporting unfair treatment?

The situation

I am currently working at a retail centre in Ontario and I am feeling very unsettled. About three weeks ago, on the 12th of last month, I decided to file a formal complaint regarding the way my supervisor has been treating me. Since I submitted that paperwork, things have changed drastically. My manager, who used to be quite friendly, has started making very subtle but clear threats about my future at the company. Yesterday, during our weekly briefing, he told me that people who 'cause trouble' or 'make life difficult for the team' usually find themselves looking for new work very quickly. He also suddenly cut my scheduled hours from 35 per week down to just 12, which is a massive loss to my weekly pay cheque. I have already tried speaking to the human resources department to explain that I feel I am being targeted because of my complaint, but they told me it was just a 'restructuring of shifts' and refused to look into it further. I am worried that I am being bullied into quitting. Is it actually against the law for them to treat me this way or reduce my hours just because I spoke up about my rights?

Detailed Analysis

Based on the facts you provided, your employer's actions—specifically the manager's threats about 'people who cause trouble' and the sudden reduction of your hours from 35 to 12—may constitute illegal retaliation.

Under the Canadian Human Rights Act, "No person shall threaten, intimidate or discriminate against an individual because that individual has made a complaint..."^[1]. This means that because you filed a formal complaint regarding your supervisor's treatment on the 12th of last month, your manager cannot legally use threats or intimidation to punish you for that action.

Furthermore, the Canada Labour Code provides specific protections against reprisals (actions taken to punish someone for exercising their rights). It is "prohibited for an employer or person acting on behalf of an employer to intimidate, dismiss, penalize, discipline or otherwise take reprisals against an employee... because the employee... files a complaint"^[2]. Your loss of 23 hours of pay per week due to a sudden schedule change could be viewed as a financial penalty or a form of reprisal for your complaint.

If these actions are proven to be linked to your complaint, the Board has the power to order your employer to "cease engaging in or to rescind the reprisal" and may require them to "pay to the employee compensation not exceeding the sum that... is equivalent to the remuneration that would, but for the reprisal, have been paid"^[3].

It is currently uncertain if your employer's claim of a 'restructuring of shifts' is a legitimate business reason or a cover for retaliation. The law looks at whether the reduction in hours was actually caused by your complaint or by an unrelated business necessity.

Statutory Citations

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