sexual harassment, Syncrude employee, wrongful termination

John A. Clark, a former Syncrude employee who was fired for sexual harassment and who sued for wrongful termination, has lost his case in front of the Alberta Court of Appeal. There is no doubt as to what Clark did during a 2004 formal Syncrude dinner event in Toronto, or to the fact that he was highly intoxicated that day. Clark smacked one woman on the buttocks, groped another, and then pulled a third down onto his lap while the dinner was in progress. Another victim was a female representative of Sun Life Financial, who was groped in the taxi after the dinner. Shortly after the trip Clark was terminated as a Syncrude employee for sexual harassment, and he then filed for wrongful termination.

John Clark engaged in sexual harassment while at an event in his capacity as a Syncrude employee, and the Alberta Court of Appeal dismissed his wrongful termination suit. According to Justice J.D. Bruce McDonald “Given the egregious nature of the behavior, the leadership position held by Clarke, Syncrude’s clear and unequivocal policies prohibiting harassment of any sort which were well known to Clarke, and the adverse impact it had on a key business relationship, as well as the adverse impact it had on key business advisors working for its pension fund administrator.” The court also found that “Contrary to Clarke’s submissions, there were adverse consequences for Syncrude and the pension fund administrator. Syncrude’s reputation with one of its key business partners was adversely affected and the pension fund administrator’s staff suffered humiliation and stress as a result of the harassment.”