On June 23, 2025, we reported on our expectations for Nova Scotia's new Mandatory Harassment Prevention Policy regulations. We are pleased to update that the long-awaited regulations were published on August 22, 2025 in the Royal Gazette Part II and will soon be added as Part 27 of the Workplace Health and Safety Regulations made under the Nova Scotia Occupational Health and Safety Act.
As expected, the new regulations are largely split between required policy statements, and procedures which must be addressed or followed by all employers of Nova Scotia employees. We break down these requirements below.
Definitions
The only defined term is "workplace harassment", which can either be a single significant occurrence, or a course of repeat occurrences. Workplace harassment includes sexual harassment, bullying, intimidation, threats and unwanted behaviour that causes harm, and may be based on any of the protected characteristics listed at clause 5(1)(h) to (v) of the Human Rights Act.
While the regulations do not mandate that every employer's policy incorporate this definition, it will be the baseline for enforcement of the regulations. In accordance with our list of "Best Practices", we encourage employers to include this definition amongst the other defined terms and specific examples contained in their new, or newly revised, harassment prevention policies.
Although the regulations do not define "workplace", this term is defined in the OHSA itself at section 3 (ah), as follows:
"workplace" means any place where an employee or a self-employed person is or is likely to be engaged in any occupation and includes any vehicle or mobile equipment used or likely to be used by an employee or a self-employed person in an occupation.
When considering employee conduct under the regulations and their respective policies, employers are encouraged to consider how the definition of "workplace" applies in the context of their operations.
This is particularly relevant in light of the Ontario Court of Appeal's recent finding in Metrolinx v. Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1587, 2025 ONCA 415, where the Court held that the employer's statutory duty under OHSA to investigate incidents of harassment in the workplace applied even though the conduct took place over private communication between employees on their personal devices. This decision is not the first to recognize that off-duty conduct may still engage an employer's workplace harassment obligations where the conduct has a demonstrable connection to the workplace, but it notably upheld the reviewing judge's finding that there is a connection to the workplace when the conduct at issue impacts one or more employees at work.
Duties
While less robust than Ontario's statutory language, the new Nova Scotia Harassment in the Workplace regulations create the following duties on employers:
- To ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that no employee will be subjected to workplace harassment.
- To ensure that all employees are trained in the employer's workplace harassment prevention policy.
- To review the workplace harassment prevention policy at least once every 3 years and make necessary updates.
- To investigate all complaints of workplace harassment.
- To take appropriate corrective action respecting any person under the employer's direction who subjects an employee to workplace harassment.
These duties are all framed in the regulations as required commitments, meaning that employers must state the obligation outright in their policy, as well as abide by it.
Nova Scotia varies from Ontario's statutory language in that employers in Nova Scotia are only explicitly obligated to commit to investigating all "complaints" of workplace harassment whereas in Ontario, employers are obligation to investigate both incidents and complaints of workplace harassment. This issue was at the forefront of the arbitrator's (now overturned) decision in Metrolinx, where the employer initially became aware of the incident absent a report or complaint by the targeted employee.
We nonetheless encourage all employers to investigate suspected incidents of harassment, even when no formal complaint is received. Employers that have concerns about whether there is a positive duty to investigate are encouraged to contact us for advice.
Employers are also required to take corrective action against any person under their direction, which could include independent service providers, vendors, and volunteers. The regulations only require corrective action to occur when an employee is subjected to workplace harassment.
Required Statements
Employers are required to include a number of statements in their workplace harassment prevention policies, including:
- that every employee is entitled to employment free of workplace harassment.
- that all employees have an obligation not to engage in workplace harassment.
- that employees are encouraged to report incidents of workplace harassment.
- That the information obtained by the employer in relation to a complaint will not be disclosed except in one of three limited circumstances:
- if such disclosure is required by law,
- if such disclosure is necessary for the purposes of investigating the complaint, or
- if such disclosure is necessary for the purposes of taking corrective action.
- that the employer will not reprimand or seek reprisal against an employee who has made a workplace harassment complaint in good faith.
- that the employer's workplace harassment prevention policy is not intended to discourage, prevent or preclude a complainant from exercising other legal rights under any other law.
The regulations do not elaborate on the extent to which disclosure of a complaint is permitted for the purpose of investigating it, or what disclosure may be necessary for the purpose of taking corrective action. Employers are encouraged to consider both the extent of the information disclosed and the individual(s) to whom the information is disclosed, in their assessment of whether disclosure is justified. When contemplating the extent of disclosure, employers may consider who "needs to know", both on the basis of procedural fairness and for the purposes of administering the policy.
Procedures
The regulations also require employers to include details in their policies about their procedures for recognizing, addressing, and responding to workplace harassment, including procedures for each of the following:
- reporting incidents of workplace harassment to the employer or to a supervisor (as applicable),
- making a complaint under the workplace harassment prevention policy to a person other than the employer or designated supervisor, in the event that the either or both is a subject of the complaint,
- investigating a complaint of workplace harassment, and
- informing the complainant(s) and the respondent(s) of the result of the investigation or any corrective action that has been or will be taken as a result of the investigation
There is no guidance in the regulations on what these procedures should or even might entail, and not all investigation processes are created equal.
We encourage anyone with questions to contact our Nova Scotia Employment & Labour practice group about how to create or update their workplace harassment prevention policies. Despite the Province's news release proclaiming that "workplaces in Nova Scotia will soon have a policy to prevent and respond to physical and psychological harassment", there is currently no deadline for compliance. However, it would be prudent for employers to address the new obligations proactively, before any employees seek to make a complaint pursuant to these new regulations.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
