dc-admin, Author at Rubin Thomlinson

Workplace investigation alert – a conscientious inquiry: Accommodating and investigating employees living with mental illness

November 1, 2018 (December 31, 2020) by dc-admin

Workplace investigations and workplace accommodations are two distinct procedures. The former is a fact-finding process that occurs in response to a complaint or incident of harassment. The latter is a procedure by which an employer and an employee work together to accommodate an employee’s limitations as a result of an injury, illness or disability. But when the accommodation relates to an illness that has an impact on an employee’s interpersonal behaviour, such as a mental illness, these two distinct procedures may intersect.

Tips for handling difficult people in workplace investigations

October 18, 2018 (December 31, 2020) by dc-admin

The hostile respondent. The complainant who answers every question with dripping sarcasm. The witness who, for whatever reason, is getting on your last nerve. Almost every workplace investigation has a difficult personality (or two, or three). Learning to handle difficult people with professionalism is a critical skill for any investigator.

The secure bystander: How psychological safety can impact bystander interventions

October 5, 2018 (December 31, 2020) by dc-admin

Do you remember that story about the emperor who ordered some new clothes from a pair of weavers? The new suit will be really special, said the weavers, invisible, in fact, to fools and the incompetent. When the emperor and his noblemen saw the weavers working on their empty looms, they had their doubts. Am I a fool? Are these guys for real? But, they did not dare to say anything.

Lessons from the Hill: What employers can learn from the Senate’s harassment policy reforms.

October 4, 2018 (September 21, 2020) by dc-admin

In putting together our submission on what changes to the policy would help the Senate identify and address harassment in the workplace, we had to turn our minds to what makes working on Parliament Hill unique. This is a workplace that lends itself to extreme power imbalances between Senators and staffers; it is a space where harassment allegations can be both public and political; and it is an environment in which many staff members are skeptical that bad behaviour will result in real consequences for the perpetrator.

#MeToo pulse check survey: How has #MeToo changed things within your organization?

October 2, 2018 (December 31, 2020) by dc-admin

Now that we are one year into the #MeToo movement and (in Ontario) quickly approaching the two year anniversary of Bill 132, Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act (Supporting Survivors and Challenging Sexual Violence and Harassment), 2016 taking effect, we thought that it would be a good opportunity for a bit of a check-in.

“What am I supposed to do? He’s my dad.” Investigating workplace harassment complaints against family members

September 27, 2018 (September 21, 2020) by dc-admin

When an employer receives a complaint or becomes aware of an incident of workplace harassment, it must be investigated. But what happens when the complaint is made against a member of the employer’s family, who just so happens to be a co-worker?

Workplace investigation alert: The impact of an investigator’s notes, in a recent BC case

August 24, 2018 (March 12, 2024) by dc-admin

Workplace investigations sometimes take more twists and turns than a Gillian Flynn novel.1 In the early stages of an investigation, it’s often impossible to say what information is going to be critical to the investigator’s decision-making process. What seemed at first like an innocuous, offhand comment from a complainant could end up cementing, or tarnishing,

BC employer’s lackluster response to sexual harassment offers helpful reminder to us all

September 24, 2018 (September 21, 2020) by dc-admin

n employer’s recent application to dismiss a complaint at the BC Human Rights Tribunal—which the tribunal rejected—reminds us of the importance of training and policies to arm employees with the tools to respond appropriately to incidents of workplace sexual harassment.

Serious insight for serious situations.