Rubin Thomlinson, Author at Rubin Thomlinson

Il, elle, iel ou ille? Quel langage neutre utiliser en français? | Gender neutral language in French, does it exist?

August 12, 2019 (September 21, 2020) by Rubin Thomlinson

Lorsque j’étais membre du Tribunal des droits de la personne de l’Ontario, j’ai présidé à une audience qui se déroulait en anglais où une des parties désirait être identifiée par le pronom « they ». Et si l’audience s’était déroulée en français? Est-ce qu’il y a un terme correspondant? On le sait, la langue française n’est pas neutre; tout est forcément féminin ou masculin.

French is not a gender-neutral language, which presents added challenges when referring to individuals who identify as non-binary. There is no corresponding term to “they” in French. As noted by the Ontario Human Rights Commission, deliberately misusing pronouns can be a form of discrimination under the Human Rights Code.

Unfair investigation? No comment.

August 12, 2019 (December 31, 2020) by Rubin Thomlinson

We are now in a world where workplace harassment is taken much more seriously than it was before. Although some jurisdictions in Canada do not have an explicit legal obligation to investigate incidents of this nature, there is now a pressing moral obligation to do so. But when such a moral obligation is unmoored from legal principles or government-issued guidelines, there is a greater risk of unfairness to all parties. An investigation in this context is more likely to be guided by an emotional drive to either undermine those who raise complaints or persecute those who are alleged to have behaved badly, rather than arriving at factual findings from a neutral perspective using a fair investigation process.

With a little help from my support person

July 31, 2019 (December 31, 2020) by Rubin Thomlinson

For most people, participating in a workplace investigation is an unusual departure from their workplace routine. Whether they are a complainant or a respondent, it can be a stressful interaction to sit in a room, with a stranger, and be asked about the details of something that happened, say, ten months ago. One way to address this stress is by allowing a support person to attend the meeting. Indeed, some institutions specifically contemplate the involvement of a support person in their policies. But like anything connected to a workplace investigation you need to think about the support person’s attendance at the interview before it happens.

Sharing the investigation results or: How to stop worrying and have the conversation

July 18, 2019 (December 31, 2020) by Rubin Thomlinson

Employers sometimes ask us for guidance on how to share the results of a workplace investigation with the parties. It’s not difficult to imagine why.

All parties to an investigation—so long as they are employees of the employer—are entitled to learn the results of the investigation, as noted in the Ministry of Labour’s Code of Practice.

Yet letting a Complainant know that his harassment complaint was not substantiated, or telling a Respondent that he engaged in bullying, is difficult information to deliver. Information like this can be physically and emotionally overwhelming for the parties to hear, and both may experience a variety of emotions in response.

Health care and harassment: Now is the time to address unhealthy habits

July 5, 2019 (December 31, 2020) by Rubin Thomlinson

Grey’s Anatomy – the television show and not the textbook – has been running for more seasons than I care to count. All I know is that it has spanned several different stages of my educational and professional life and seems to have as strong a following as ever. Not unlike the legal world, mining the hospital and health care environment for inspiration can yield highly entertaining programming. One archetypal character that frequently appears in both drama and comedic form is the curmudgeonly demanding senior doctor.

How an external investigation actually saved money for an employer

June 24, 2019 (September 21, 2020) by Rubin Thomlinson

At Rubin Thomlinson we deliver a lot of training on conducting workplace investigations and often the discussion turns to the costs of conducting an investigation, whether it be the monetary costs of an external investigation or the time costs of an internal investigation. These costs are typically balanced with the benefits of conducting an effective investigation, such as allowing employees to be heard, demonstrating a commitment to a respective workplace culture by “walking the talk” of policies, clarifying what actually occurred, and implementing targeted outcomes.

Straight and gay: Two cases of sexual misconduct at Canadian universities

June 20, 2019 (December 31, 2020) by Rubin Thomlinson

Most reported cases of sexual misconduct on university campuses follow a common narrative: a male professor engages in sexual misconduct with female student. This scenario pits sexual violence advocates against institutions and engages the media. But what happens when the narrative changes?

Looking in the mirror: Harassment in legal workplaces

June 14, 2019 (December 31, 2020) by Rubin Thomlinson

Whether advocating for a client before the Human Rights Tribunal, drafting a Respect at Work Policy or assisting a client with engaging a workplace investigator, many lawyers are familiar with providing advice about harassment at work, but how many of us have thought about harassment in our own workplaces?

The Law Society of Ontario’s Discrimination and Harassment Counsel (“DHC”), an organization whose mandate includes providing services to people who have concerns or complaints about discrimination or harassment by lawyers and paralegals, shed light on this topic in its most recent report.

Serious insight for serious situations.