Workplace Relationships at Toronto City Hall: Stan Fainzilberg on 640 Toronto

Interview Summary

The mayor of Toronto’s recent resignation has led many to consider office romances. Should employers implement workplace policies to ensure employees are honest? Can employees be terminated as a result of engaging in an office relationship?

Stan Fainzilberg, a Toronto employment lawyer and Partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP joined Alex Pierson on 640 Toronto to answer these questions and more.

Interview Notes

• Negative consequences of Tory’s relationship: There are no laws regarding employee and employer relationships. Tory’s relationship appears to be consensual and so there were no legal prohibitions. Many companies have required employees to disclose their relationships. Politically, there seems to be a potential for conflict of interest issues.
• Problems with former staffer finding new employment: From an employment perspective, Tory could have used connections or provided a reference for the former staffer to find new employment. Ensuring a subordinate finds a new position is again, not illegal.
• Liability for staffer after the public announcement: Ultimately, the former staffer had agency and made a choice to engage in a relationship with John Tory. The Toronto Star’s investigation could lead to potential issues regarding defamation if all details were not reported accurately.
• City of Toronto code of conduct: The current code of conduct in Toronto does not specifically address relationships between staff. Most policies are vague and can be applied to many different situations. It is surprising that there is no policy addressing workplace relationships considering the current climate and recent public employer and employee relationships.