Serious insight for serious situations.

Serious insight for serious situations.

Mining for details from the eyewitness: The latest research in cognitive interviewing & practical tips

One of the key challenges of a workplace investigator is to determine who did what and when – a challenge that becomes much more arduous when eyewitnesses fail to recall important details. In RT’s workplace investigation training course, Assessing Credibility, we teach participants about different interviewing strategies to enhance an interviewee’s memory. New Approaches to

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Poisoned work environment: An employer’s responsibility

I am often asked what “poisoned work environment” means. My thought is that while many people have heard the term and may even use it occasionally, they are not really sure what it is. A recent HRTO decision provides some clear guidance as to what a poisoned work environment is, how it often arises, and

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Unmasking the veil of privilege in workplace investigations

There is a growing prevalence of workplace investigations in today’s legal landscape.  Conventionally, employers have conducted investigations for two primary reasons: to minimize legal liability to employees who have experienced some form of injury or improper treatment in the workplace (e.g. injury, discrimination, harassment, etc.); and to obtain information that may be relevant to a

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Municipal integrity commissioners and workplace investigators: Who does what when council members are accused of harassment?

Bill 68, the Modernizing Ontario’s Municipal Legislation Act, 2017, received Royal Assent on May 30, 2017. One of the biggest changes introduced by the Bill is the requirement that all municipalities in Ontario have a Code of Conduct and either appoint an Integrity Commissioner, or make arrangements for the Commissioner of another municipality to fulfill

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Rehiring the man who had sexually harassed her over a decade before, triggers employee’s constructive dismissal

Constructive dismissal cases are tricky. The onus is on the employee to prove her case, often in the face of strong opposition from the employer. Moreover, the test is an objective one.  It is not the employee’s subjective assessment of the workplace conditions that rules the day.  Rather, it is the legal decision maker’s assessment

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How do I maintain privilege over investigation reports?

I was recently invited to speak on an Advocates’ Society panel on the subject of privilege of investigation reports.  As an investigator who conducts harassment investigations, it was a fascinating discussion because the reasons for attempting to secure privilege over investigation reports of other types were compelling.  For organizations dealing with issues such as major

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150 Words

As we prepare for the party of the century (and a half), we must remember that not everyone who calls this land home feels that this is a milestone worth celebrating. For many indigenous people, this anniversary overlooks their much longer relationship to the land. For others, it represents a celebration of the same colonization

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Self care for workplace investigators

A few weeks ago, I met with a number of people who are in charge of retaining external investigators and who conduct internal investigations in their own organization. In my discussions with them, they asked me what our group of investigators does to take care of themselves. We have been talking about this for some

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