Ottawa Bureaucrat Finally Wins Legal Right to Move Away From Farting Co-Worker

Co-workers are a bit like families. You can’t choose who they are, but you often end up sitting next to them for countless hours while they loudly swear and fart.

At least, that’s what happened to an Ottawa bureaucrat who began sharing a wall with a particularly bothersome colleague back in 2009.

Line Emond, who works for the Parole Board in Canada, first ran into “Mr. X” (as the defendant in the case is being referred to) when she found him washing his feet in vinegar…in his cubicle.

Despite protestations that this was simply how he cleaned his feet, Emond reported his behaviour to their manager who promised to look into it (side note: let’s all go and work there, it sounds incredibly chill).

The Ottawa worker finally received financial compensation and the right to work in another building last month, as detailed in a Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board post, but not before a series of incidents between the two co-workers played out.

Mr. X, who – amongst a litany complaints – wore sandals all year round (presumably to facilitate his vinegar foot-spa sessions), continued to rack up a roster of misdemeanours that irked Emond, including heating up smelly meals, loudly rummaging around in the kitchen, and making strange noises whilst consuming it at his desk.

Other colleagues complained of him putting his feet up on the desk and using a white-noise machine.

He was also accused of using the F-word frequently and making such a racket as he prepared to leave the office that Emond – and this is the real crime of the whole scenario – was forced to take her breaks at 2.30pm every single day.

Things came to a head in 2010 when his rummaging reached a noisy crescendo and Emond banged on his wall. Mr. X quickly arrived next door and asked her, “What is your problem? … There is a line on the floor and do not cross that line because I do not know what will happen.”

Despite mentioning it to her colleagues and superiors and her relocation to another office later in 2010, which removed Emond from Mr. X’s imminent sphere of rummaging and flatulence, the debacle didn’t end there.

Mr. X filed his own harassment complaint against Ms. Emond in 2011, which led to her seeking medical treatment and going on sick leave in order to escape her colleague. She did not wish to return until she was allowed to either work from home or work in a completely different building than Mr. X.

A doctor and a psychologist both agreed that as long as the situation remained unresolved, she could not reasonably be expected to work at the building and confirmed that her fear was real and credible.

The adjudicator, Linda Gobeil, ruled that her employer must allow Emond to work in another building and compensate her for lost earnings while on long-term disability and restore her annual leave.

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