NDP staffer who complained about alleged MPP harassment wrongly let go: arbitrator | Globalnews.ca (2024)

An Ontario NDP constituency assistant fired by the party after her boss was removed from caucus for allegedly sexually harassing her was unreasonably let go, according to an employment arbitrator.

In a decision released on Thursday, an arbitrator found that an assistant who was let go from former NDP MPP Michael Mantha’s constituency office after complaining about his conduct was entitled to compensation.

Mantha was removed by Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles in August 2023 when the party said misconduct allegations were “substantiated” against him. He was first elected in 2011 to represent the northern Ontario riding of Algoma-Manitoulin and is now sitting as an independent.

New details of the allegations, the workplace investigation that followed and its conclusions were included in the arbitration decision which considered two grievances filed against the NDP by its union on behalf of the employee — one for failing to maintain a workplace free from harassment, the other for being terminated without cause in January 2024.

In August 2022, an unnamed constituency assistant in Mantha’s office complained to the party that she was working in an unsafe environment, the decision said. In January, the NDP brought in an external company to conduct an investigation into the allegations.

The investigation found, on a balance of probabilities, that the complaints made by the constituency assistant – that Mantha had been sexually harassing her – had been substantiated.

“MPP Mantha requested that the Grievor send him sexually explicit photos of herself, advise him of any sexual dreams about him, and made comments about her appearance, including her makeup, hair, and clothes,” the arbitration decision said.

The balance of probability conclusions of the workplace investigation have not been tested in court and were not the specific subject of the arbitration decision.

“I have not been asked to make any factual findings regarding the harassment allegations,” the arbitrator noted in her decision.

The investigation was completed in August 2023, the decision said, and Mantha was then removed from the NDP caucus. Months later, in January, the NDP sent a letter of termination to the constituency assistant who had complained about Mantha.

“The letter asserted that, given the fact that that MPP Mantha no longer held an elected seat within the ONDP Caucus, the Grievor’s employment ‘no longer fell within the purview of the collective agreement,'” the arbitrator wrote.

A senior NDP source told Global News that Mantha rehired all the staff who had been laid off by the NDP in his office as an independent MPP when he was removed from caucus. The only person he did not rehire, the source said, was the constituency assistant who had lodged the complaint.

The NDP source said the constituency assistant was employed throughout the investigation but the party couldn’t find another office or role to transfer them to.

The NDP source explained that once an MPP has been removed from caucus the party no longer maintains an office within the riding.

The party maintains that while it tried to find alternate work for the employee, none was available in the area where they were previously employed. The party agreed to keep the individual employed until the conclusion of the workplace harassment investigation.

Mantha did not respond to a request for comment from Global News sent on Friday afternoon.

After the termination letter was sent, the union filed a grievance on behalf of the constituency employee, which the arbitrator accepted, agreeing that the NDP was wrong to terminate her contract.

“The Grievor’s employment was not terminated for just cause,” the decision said.“Rather, as with the other Constituency Assistants in the office, the Grievor’s employment with the ONDP Caucus was frustrated, through no fault of her own, following the removal of MPP Mantha from the ONDP caucus.”

The arbitrator ordered the NDP and the union to work together to agree to a settlement based on her decision.