In 2010, I recall watching a documentary on how abusive a boss Peter Nygard was — a biopic called Larger than Life that revealed the Canadian retailer referred to himself as “God” in the workplace and followed his penchant for entertaining underage women at his Bahamian enclave on Lyford Cay that he renamed “Nygard Cay.”

While the documentary was critical, unflattering and pointed to serious misconduct, it did not seem to cause the national outrage one would expect for what seemed to be a serial offender operating not just with impunity but with reckless abandon.

What is more bizarre is that the picture was not the first time Nygard’s conduct was publicized. In 1996, three women filed sexual harassment complaints to the Manitoba Human Rights Commission and it was reported on in the Winnipeg Free Press. Their allegations were that he made sexual comments constantly and touched their bodies inappropriately.

Earlier this year a former Nygard employee, Jana Larson, went on the Fifth Estate and claimed she was raped by the Canadian mogul on a Hong Kong business trip in 1980. She alleged in the interview that Nygard, through their adjoining hotel rooms entered her bed in the middle of the night, put his hand over her mouth and raped her.

Upon returning to Canada, Larson alleges Nygard was abusive, yelled at her and was harassing, in an attempt, she believes, to push her out of the company. He succeeded.

None of Larson’s allegations against Nygard have been proven in court.

Nygard was arrested in Winnipeg on Dec. 14 after being charged in the U.S. for racketeering and sex trafficking for allegedly recruiting and maintaining victims — including employees in the U.S., Canada and Bahamas — to provide sexual services to himself and associates.

In the civil courts, Nygard has also recently faced a class action for similar sexual misconduct.

Peter Nygard wasn’t taken down during the #metoo movement. How could that be? Why did the system take so long?

The obvious lesson from Nygard’s story is that #metoo remains and it is hiding in plain sight. Even when unseating deviant industry titans became a global pastime in late 2017, some like Nygard went unnoticed and skirted criminal sanctions until now. Nygard’s conduct has been accused of being sexual predation of the highest order allegedly spanning decades.

One can only wonder about the “everyday” offenders who aren’t snaring global headlines; the managers, supervisors and co-workers who sexually offend, comforted by the relative silence that still follows most sexual assault and harassment cases.

While I have written about this extensively before, those who have been victim of sexual assault or harassment in the workplace are not subject to time limitations to bring forward their cases. Using the civil forum to seek damages allows you, the victim, to tell your story, gather evidence and even have your lawyer examine your accuser prior to trial.

The keys to the car are really in your hands.

On to your questions from this week:

Q. I have a co-worker who brags about what he does on the weekends. He drives to other zones that are not in lockdown (we work in Toronto) and he talks about going to parties, shopping at malls and even going to bars. Not only is this annoying but it’s scary. Can I complain to my boss or am I wasting my time?

A. Your employer has an obligation to keep the workplace safe for you and your coworkers. If you have a legitimate concern that a coworker is breaching municipal and provincial health recommendations talk to your boss and ask for the rogue employee to be spoken to. Of course, if other recommendations like social distancing and mask wearing is a concern in the workplace now is the time to raise that too.

Q. I have been laid off since March and am losing hope I will ever go back to work. Now that the holidays have hit, with not much in the bank to give my family some holiday cheer I wonder if there any light at the end of the tunnel. Will I be brought back to work anytime soon now that the vaccine has been announced? I feel employers should have to tell employees now what to expect. The future feels bleak with employers not having to tell employees much about coming back to work.

A. Your lay off was converted to IDEL leave in May (retroactive to March) this year. This gave employers a lot of flexibility about recalling employees to work. The timeline to return employees to work was removed from current provincial employment legislation. The bad news for employees is that IDEL was supposed to end January 3, 2021 and has just been extended this week to the summertime of 2021. You may be waiting a lot longer than you thought to hear back from your employer. It might be time to look elsewhere for work.

Email me at schaudhri@lscslaw.com with your Covid workplace questions and your question may be featured in a future column.