Defending the sexual harassment of a reporter at a Toronto FC game cost Shawn Simoes his six figure Hydro One job last May. Now, after an arbitration process, Simoes has been rehired.

“He’s very happy to be at work — I can tell you that,” said Tracey Henry, a lawyer who represented Simoes through his union, the Society of Energy Professionals.

“He was sincerely remorseful. He regretted his conduct.”

In May, CityNews reporter Shauna Hunt confronted a group of men allegedly plotting to yell “F--- her right in the p----” into her microphone outside of a Toronto FC game. The crude phrase is frequently shouted at female television reporters in what has become a vulgar, viral trend.

While a camera rolled, Simoes defended the phrase to Hunt.

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“It is f---ing hilarious,” he exclaimed with a grin. “You’re lucky there’s not a f---ing vibrator in your ear, like in England, because it happened all the time. It’s f---ing amazing and I respect it all the time!”

Hunt, who later told the Star that she was tired of being bombarded with the phrase on a near-daily basis, asked Simoes what his mother would think of him talking like this to a woman.

“Oh my mom would die laughing, eventually,” Simoes replied.

Simoes’ comments lost him his job at Hydro One, where the assistant network management engineer earned a spot on Ontario’s Sunshine List for making $106,510 last year. The utility said that Simoes had been fired for violating its code of conduct.

In an email to the Star, a Hydro One spokesperson confirmed that the rehiring came after an arbitration process.

“Hydro One made its views very clear,” the spokesperson said, referring to a May statement where the utility condemned harassment and discrimination.

“We will not comment any further.”

Hunt confirmed via her Twitter account that Hydro One let her know in advance that he had been rehired. She declined to comment for this story.

According to Henry, Simoes was reinstated after a third party arbitrator was brought in to adjudicate the dispute.

“The arbitrator accepted that he had truly made efforts to rehabilitate himself,” Henry says.

In the aftermath of the May incident, Simoes apologized to both Hunt and Hydro One, Henry adds. He also volunteered for sensitivity training, donated to the White Ribbon Campaign — a non-profit that focuses on ending violence against women — and received statements of support from 34 colleagues, more than half of whom were women.

“I was quite impressed, actually, from the feedback from his coworkers,” Henry says.

“It is off-duty conduct. That’s also an important piece that got overlooked to some degree.”

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According to Daniel Lublin of Whitten & Lublin Employment Lawyers, while Hydro One was justified in firing Simoes, he’s not surprised that Simoes was reinstated.

“Had the story not gone viral, then I would have stated that I don’t think it would have been enough to support or uphold the termination for cause,” Lublin says.

“Now that the story has calmed down a little bit, if he was a good employee and did a good job, I can’t say I fault Hydro One in taking him back. I mean, people make mistakes… their reinstatement is probably a recognition that they may have acted a little bit summarily to begin with.”

After the May incident, Simoes and another man were also barred from Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) facilities for one year. A spokesperson from MLSE, which owns the soccer team as well as the Maple Leafs and the Raptors, said that the men can apply for reinstatement after the year has elapsed.

Simoes’ alma mater, Wilfrid Laurier University, previously released a statement condemning the incident. Simoes played soccer for the school and actually tried out for the Toronto FC back in 2006.

Simoes could not be reached for comment on Monday. Hunt declined to comment for this story.

With files from Lauren Pelley.

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