Misclassification strips RMTs of the protections that are supposed to exist when workplace violence occurs.
Misclassification strips RMTs of the protections that are supposed to exist when workplace violence occurs.
If an RMT were truly an employee, several things would automatically apply:
Employer duty to provide a safe workplace (under WorkSafeBC)
Mandatory violence prevention policies
Clear incident reporting pathways
Protection from retaliation
Employer responsibility to remove or ban abusive clients
Access to compensation and support after an incident
But many RMTs in BC are labeled “independent contractors” while functioning like employees.
When you’re misclassified:
You carry the risk - but not the power
You don’t control clinic policies
You don’t control patient screening standards
You don’t control safety protocols
But you do carry:
Personal safety risk
Professional liability
Income loss if you refuse unsafe patients
That’s a bad equation.
There is often:
No formal reporting system
No investigation process
No obligation for the clinic to act
No structured support after an incident
So what happens? Everything becomes informal, inconsistent, and optional. You become economically vulnerable to unsafe situations
This is the part people don’t say out loud:
Turning away a patient = lost income
Reporting an incident = risk of losing your position
Speaking up = labeled “difficult”
So people:
stay quiet
tolerate red flags
second-guess their instincts
That’s how risk escalates.
Why this directly increases risk of assault > > >
Misclassification → Lack of enforceable safety structures → Power imbalance → Increased vulnerability to boundary violations and assault
More specifically:
No standardized screening → higher-risk patients get through
No clear policies → inconsistent handling of red flags
No employer accountability → unsafe clients aren’t removed
Isolation in treatment rooms → no oversight or backup
Financial pressure → hesitation to refuse or discharge
That’s not random. That’s a system producing predictable outcomes.
What happens after an incident?
In a properly structured workplace:
Incident is documented
Employer steps in
Worker is supported
Clear next steps exist
In misclassified RMT environments:
The therapist is on their own
Clinics may distance themselves (“you’re a contractor”)
No clear reporting pathway
No legal or financial safety net
Risk of counter-complaints (as in Bodhi’s case)
The system effectively offloads institutional responsibility onto the individual therapist
Why this is not just a “women’s issue” or isolated cases
It’s tempting for people to think:
“This mostly affects female therapists”
“That case was extreme”
“I’ve never experienced that”
The Push back on this thinking is > this is about:
Workplace structure
Power imbalance
Regulatory and advocacy gaps
The system fails everyone - therapists and patients - when there are no protections in place.