Credibility Archives - Rubin Thomlinson

The importance of fairness in regulatory AND workplace investigations

June 12, 2023 | By Geoffrey Wong

I recently had the privilege of being a speaker at an webinar event hosted by the Society of Ontario Adjudicators and Regulators (SOAR), to deliver training on fairness issues in investigations.

We believe you . . . Sometimes

May 24, 2023 | By Bruce Best

The assessment of credibility and reliability is always a central part of an investigator’s work. My colleague, Chantel Levy, wrote an excellent overview of the considerations a decision maker should bear in mind when making a finding of credibility, including consistency, corroborative evidence, plausibility, and motive.

Carroll v. Trump: Lessons for investigations of historic claims of sexual abuse

May 15, 2023 | By Janice Rubin, | By Katharine Montpetit

We have had mandates to investigate allegations of sexual abuse that occurred many years ago. As we point out to clients who wish to retain us, beyond the complexities of every case of this kind, most notably that there is usually no direct evidence of the event having transpired, “historic” cases present unique challenges: Witnesses may no longer be available, documents may have been destroyed, and memories inevitably fade.

L’affaire Render ou l’histoire d’un cas de tolérance zéro en matière de harcèlement sexuel | The Render’s case or a story of zero tolerance in sexual harassment

June 7, 2022 | By Alexandra Djagba Oli

Si l’année 2022 nous a déjà fourni amples sujets de discussions tels que la gifle de Will Smith aux Oscars, ou encore le procès en diffamation de Johnny Depp, la récente décision de la Cour d’appel de l’Ontario dans l’affaire Render v. ThyssenKrupp Elevator (Canada) Limited, 2022 ONCA 310 (CanLII), rejoint, à mon avis, aisément ce palmarès.

Credibility Assessments in a “He Said- She Said”

May 17, 2022 | By Chantel Levy

If you’re conducting workplace investigations, it’s inevitable that at some point you’ll be faced with the dreaded “he said-she said” file. I think of a “he said-she said” scenario to be one where two parties have widely divergent versions of events and there are no eyewitnesses or other direct evidence.

In-house intel for internal investigators

February 15, 2022 | By Liliane Gingras, | By Chantel Levy

Before joining Rubin Thomlinson, we both worked in-house in large organizations, overseeing workplace investigations. Internal investigations can be tricky to navigate; opportunities for conflicts and confidentiality breaches are heightened when investigators work among those who they are investigating.

Identifying and managing groupthink in workplace investigations

June 22, 2021 | By Chantel Levy

Several of my investigations have led me to reflect on the phenomenon of “groupthink,” and how it impacts the workplace and intrudes upon workplace investigations. Groupthink is a term that was first coined by social psychologist Irving Janis, and refers to a group that, when working together, strives for harmony and consensus above all else.

Fatal flaws: 10 mistakes that can sink your workplace investigation report

November 30, 2020 | By Liliane Gingras

In my role as review counsel, I train others on how to write effective workplace investigation reports. When I review reports, much of what I focus on is readability: how is the report going to sound to the reader? Is it easy to read? Is the reader going to get confused by the report’s organization? I think about this mythical reader a lot; probably too much in fact, and I bet my colleagues are tired of hearing me go on about it.

Serious insight for serious situations.