Rubin Thomlinson, Author at Rubin Thomlinson

How flaws in an investigation may lead to a finding of racial discrimination

April 28, 2020 (February 17, 2021) by Rubin Thomlinson

Evidence of racial discrimination can be hard to come by. In Ontario, it is settled law that discrimination will more often be proven by circumstantial evidence and inference; the law has also accepted the principle that racial stereotyping will usually be the result of subtle unconscious beliefs, biases, and prejudices.

A recent decision from the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario shows how an external review body may make such an inference based on flaws in an organization’s investigation.

Sometimes a comment is just a comment: Making out a prima facie case of discrimination or harassment

April 16, 2020 (December 31, 2020) by Rubin Thomlinson

Standards of appropriate workplace behaviour have rapidly changed over the last few years, and conduct that was once deemed acceptable is no longer tolerated in the workplace. But as the following arbitration decision demonstrates, one fundamental requirement still remains: the need to demonstrate a prima facie case of discrimination or harassment before the obligation to investigate a complaint is triggered.

When catfishing comes to work: Assessing the authenticity of social media evidence in a workplace investigation

April 13, 2020 (December 31, 2020) by Rubin Thomlinson

As workplace investigators in 2020, we routinely deal with issues in investigations that relate to technology, especially social media applications. In any given investigation, some portion of the alleged bullying might have taken place over Facebook, or Slack messages might provide critical evidence of sexual harassment.

Workplace investigators working remotely part 4: Making the best of a difficult situation

April 8, 2020 (September 21, 2021) by Rubin Thomlinson

Here is the fourth and final installment of our chain blog, where our colleagues have discussed their experiences with working at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This post outlines some of the silver linings that we’ve discovered, both personally and professionally, as we collectively try to find our new normal during this pandemic.

Think twice before you slack

April 6, 2020 (December 31, 2020) by Rubin Thomlinson

I was actually going to write this blog last fall but it seems even more timely now. I have done a number of investigations in the past year where some of the allegations and evidence concerned conversations on various instant messaging platforms: Slack, Microsoft Teams and WhatsApp. While I seem to have developed a sub-specialty with investigations in the Tech sector, I confess that the first time a party spoke to me of Slack, I was somewhat clueless.

Workplace investigators working remotely part 3: Thoughts on self-care while working in a pandemic

March 30, 2020 (December 31, 2020) by Rubin Thomlinson

Here is the third installment of the chain blog that our colleagues started, sharing their experiences working at home during the COVID-19 crisis. This blog focuses on what we’ve learned while trying to take care of ourselves in the midst of the coronavirus chaos.

A new remedy for non-sexual workplace harassment: The class action

March 27, 2020 (June 16, 2021) by Rubin Thomlinson

In the recent past there have been several class actions involving individuals who have experienced sex-based discrimination, sexual harassment, and sexual abuse in workplaces and institutions. But what about the type of harassment that we most often see as workplace investigators – bullying, intimidation and abuse of one’s authority that does not target someone based on a protected ground of discrimination? Can there be a class action united for those who experience of this type of behaviour? Possibly.

Workplace investigators working remotely part 2: Some ways we adapted our workdays this week

March 26, 2020 (December 31, 2020) by Rubin Thomlinson

On Monday, several of my RT colleagues shared a “chain blog” about some of the humbling lessons that they learned from various mishaps occurring during their first week working remotely. In response, a few other colleagues and I would like to share some of our successes – things that have gone well or solutions that we have implemented to potential issues.

Serious insight for serious situations.