Ontario board shuts down worker who filed 15 claims, threatened lawyers
A former Red Lobster employee who reported his then‑girlfriend’s workplace sexual harassment has been declared a vexatious litigant after engaging in threatening behaviour, sending inappropriate images to opposing counsel, and submitting AI‑generated material in support of his claims.
Vice‑chair Peigi Ross of the Ontario Labour Relations Board dismissed five applications and stayed seven others filed by Kevin Huggins against Red Lobster and his union, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1006A, on the basis of abuse of process and findings that he had conducted proceedings in a vexatious manner.
Sexual harassment at Red Lobster
Huggins filed complaints in July 2024 that his then‑girlfriend was being sexually harassed by the Burlington, Ont. Red Lobster store manager; the first complaint was filed with UFCW on July 6, 2024 and the second with Red Lobster on July 7, 2024. Red Lobster investigated his complaint and found it to be substantiated, and the manager’s employment was terminated as a result.
But Huggins alleged that he was unlawfully reprised against when he was removed from the shift schedule around June 2, 2025 and then terminated from his employment on Sept. 18, 2025, which he claims constituted unlawful reprisal under section 50 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
The section states that:
“No employer or person acting on behalf of an employer shall,
(a) dismiss or threaten to dismiss a worker;
(b) discipline or suspend or threaten to discipline or suspend a worker;
(c) impose any penalty upon a worker; or
(d) intimidate or coerce a worker,
because the worker has acted in compliance with this Act or the regulations or an order made thereunder, has sought the enforcement of this Act or the regulations or has given evidence in a proceeding in respect of the enforcement of this Act or the regulations or in an inquest under the Coroners Act.”
However, the company’s asserted rationale for the termination of includes, among other things, “defacement and vandalizing” of the Burlington store, which he both admitted to and denied, said the decision.
Criminal charges for mischief under $5,000 were laid against Huggins in relation to damage to Red Lobster’s property; he later advised the board that the charges were dismissed because no one from Red Lobster attended at court.
Threatening behaviour
What began as a legitimate harassment complaint rapidly deteriorated into a pattern of threatening and abusive behaviour that undermined Huggins' own case.
The board described multiple emails from Huggins containing profanity and threats. In one email, he told Red Lobster’s counsel he would “fuck you up” if he did not get what he wanted. On the morning of the March 4, 2025 hearing, he sent opposing counsel material that included “a picture of feces-smeared underwear.” Vice‑chair Ross stated: “There is no context in which this type of childish, gross and repugnant behaviour can be justified.”
Huggins’ emails to Red Lobster’s counsel contained extensive profanity. In a Feb. 4, 2025 email, he wrote: “Mother Fucker, you read my Master Piece, waited 1.5 + hrs when the Board closed and then decided you do not consent, nice move you fucking loser!!!!”
Board declares employee vexatious litigant
Between September 2024 and December 2025, Huggins filed 15 applications with the board, all relating to the same underlying facts. Despite repeated directions from the board about proper procedure and appropriate conduct, he continued filing materials and making production demands already addressed by previous decisions.
The board also noted that Huggins repeatedly defied specific procedural directions, including requirements about how to deliver and file submissions. He was expressly directed not to file submissions intended to "bolster or advocate his position," bu continued doing so, including filing six separate "books of documents" that contained his commentary rather than actual documents.
The board declared that Huggins "has persistently and without reasonable grounds instituted vexatious proceedings and has conducted proceedings in a vexatious manner."
Five applications were dismissed entirely. Seven other applications were immediately stayed, and Huggins was prohibited from instituting any future proceedings before the board without first obtaining permission.
