# How Should an Employer Conduct a Workplace Investigation in Ontario?

> In Ontario, employers have a statutory duty under OHSA section 32.0.7 to investigate workplace harassment complaints appropriately: promptly (generally within 90 days), using an objective investigator not controlled by the alleged harasser, keeping details confidential, and giving both parties written notice of the results and any corrective action. This duty does not extend to complaints from former employees, per Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario caselaw.

Published 2026-08-16 · Last reviewed 2026-08-11 · [Canonical page](https://canadalegalcenter.ca/articles/how-should-an-employer-conduct-a-workplace-investigation-in-ontario/)

Legal information, not legal advice.

## Confirm the complaint actually triggers the duty to investigate

Before assigning an investigator, confirm the complaint falls within the statutory definition. Under [Ontario's Guide to the OHSA](https://www.ontario.ca/document/guide-occupational-health-and-safety-act/part-iii0i-workplace-violence-and-workplace-harassment), "workplace harassment" is defined broadly enough to include harassment prohibited under the Human Rights Code, as well as what is often called psychological or personal harassment. It does not, however, include a reasonable action taken by an employer or supervisor relating to the management and direction of workers or the workplace, such as ordinary scheduling decisions or performance feedback delivered appropriately. Sorting out which category a complaint falls into is the first real decision point, because it determines whether the OHSA investigation duty applies at all.

**Before you start:** the duty to investigate individual complaints sits on top of a separate, standing obligation. Under [section 32.0.6(1) of the OHSA](https://files.ontario.ca/workplace_harassment_en.pdf), employers must already have a written program in place, developed in consultation with the joint health and safety committee or representative, implementing their harassment policy. If that program does not exist yet, building it is a prerequisite, not something to improvise mid-investigation.

## 1. Appoint an objective investigator

The person conducting the investigation must not have been involved in the incident and must not be under the direct control of the alleged harasser, per [Ontario Ministry of Labour guidance](https://www.ontario.ca/page/workplace-harassment-investigation-employer). The Ministry's own illustrative example makes the point concretely: if the alleged harasser is the complainant's direct supervisor, that manager cannot conduct a fair and impartial investigation because they supervise the person coming forward. In that situation, the employer needs someone else, such as a person from head office, a different HR contact, or an external investigator.

## 2. Make sure workers can report outside the chain of command

This step matters most in the exact scenario above. The written harassment program required under section 32.0.6(1) must include measures and procedures allowing workers to report incidents to a person other than the employer or supervisor, under [section 32.0.6(2)(b) of the OHSA](https://files.ontario.ca/workplace_harassment_en.pdf). Without that alternate channel built into the program in advance, a worker whose harasser is their own supervisor has nowhere obvious to bring the complaint.

## 3. Investigate promptly, generally within 90 days

Once a complaint is received, Ministry of Labour guidance treats completion within 90 days as reasonable, unless there are compelling reasons for a longer process, such as multiple witnesses or a key witness unavailable due to illness. This is not a hard statutory deadline, but delay without justification undermines the "appropriate in the circumstances" standard that [OHSA section 32.0.7](https://www.ontario.ca/page/workplace-harassment-investigation-employer) sets for the investigation itself.

## 4. Keep the investigation confidential

Information about the incident, and about the people involved, should not be disclosed unless disclosure is necessary to protect workers or is needed to carry out the investigation. This confidentiality obligation runs alongside the duty to investigate and applies throughout, not just at the reporting stage.

## 5. Document findings and give both parties written notice

At the end of the process, both the worker who was allegedly harassed and the alleged harasser, if they are still an employee, must be informed in writing of the results of the investigation and of any corrective action that has been or will be taken, under [OHSA section 32.0.7](https://www.ontario.ca/document/guide-occupational-health-and-safety-act/part-iii0i-workplace-violence-and-workplace-harassment). Separately, the OHSA specifies that the investigation results and any report created during or for the investigation are not automatically a report that must be handed over to a Ministry of Labour inspector, which gives employers some protection over the investigation file itself.

## 6. Feed the outcome back into the written harassment program

The duty does not end with notifying the parties. Employers must review their written workplace harassment program as often as necessary, but at least annually, to ensure it adequately implements the harassment policy, informed by what investigations have revealed about gaps in reporting, training, or response. An investigation that surfaces the same problem repeatedly is a signal that the program itself, not just the individual complaint, needs attention.

## Who the duty does not reach

The OHSA investigation duty is tied to the employment relationship at the time the complaint is made. The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario has repeatedly held that an employer has no legal duty to conduct a workplace investigation where the person requesting it is no longer an employee, as confirmed in [Rougoor v Goodlife Fitness Centres Inc, 2024 HRTO 312](https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onhrt/doc/2024/2024hrto312/2024hrto312.html). A former employee raising a harassment allegation after their employment ends may have other avenues, such as a direct application to the Tribunal, but it does not by itself revive the employer's section 32.0.7 obligation.

## Frequently asked questions

**Does an Ontario employer have to investigate every complaint of bad behaviour at work?**

No. The duty under OHSA section 32.0.7 applies to workplace harassment as defined in the Act, which is broad enough to cover Human Rights Code-based harassment and general psychological or personal harassment, but it excludes reasonable management actions such as normal direction of work or performance feedback.

**Can HR investigate a complaint against the employee's own manager?**

Not if that manager directly supervises or controls the person doing the investigating. Ontario's Ministry of Labour guidance gives the example of a manager who is the direct supervisor of the complainant: that manager cannot conduct a fair and impartial investigation, so the employer needs a different, unconflicted person, such as someone from head office or an outside investigator.

**Does an Ontario employer still have to investigate if the complainant has already left the company?**

The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario has held that the duty to investigate does not extend to a complaint made by someone who is no longer an employee at the time the investigation is requested, per Rougoor v Goodlife Fitness Centres Inc.

**How long does an Ontario employer have to complete a harassment investigation?**

There is no fixed statutory deadline, but Ministry of Labour guidance treats completion within 90 days of the complaint as reasonable, absent compelling reasons for delay such as multiple witnesses or a witness who is unavailable due to illness.


## Sources

1. [Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development — 'Workplace harassment: how employers can investigate'](https://www.ontario.ca/page/workplace-harassment-investigation-employer), Occupational Health and Safety Act, RSO 1990, c O.1, s 32.0.7 (retrieved 2026-07-17)
2. [Ontario Ministry of Labour — Code of Practice / guidance PDF on workplace harassment](https://files.ontario.ca/workplace_harassment_en.pdf), Occupational Health and Safety Act, RSO 1990, c O.1, s 32.0.6 (retrieved 2026-07-17)
3. [Government of Ontario — Guide to the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Part III.0.1](https://www.ontario.ca/document/guide-occupational-health-and-safety-act/part-iii0i-workplace-violence-and-workplace-harassment), Occupational Health and Safety Act, RSO 1990, c O.1, s 32.0.7 (retrieved 2026-07-17)
4. [CanLII — Rougoor v. Goodlife Fitness Centres Inc.](https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onhrt/doc/2024/2024hrto312/2024hrto312.html), Rougoor v Goodlife Fitness Centres Inc, 2024 HRTO 312 (CanLII), para 26