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Serious insight for serious situations.

Serious insight for serious situations.

Data and Investigation Series: Why is collecting investigation data important?

This is the first in a series of blog posts that I will be writing on data and investigations.

The ultimate goal of organizations is to get into what we at Rubin Thomlinson call “the zone” – the optimal workplace that is characterized by respect, civility, tolerance, inclusivity, and no, or few, employment-related legal problems.

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Lexicon for bilingual investigations

Recently, while drafting an investigation report in French, I surprisingly struggled to find an appropriate way to translate “counter-complaint.” In the context of civil litigation, in French, a counterclaim is “une demande reconventionnelle,” but a quick internet search also suggests terms such as “contre-plainte” or “contre-recours.”

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Investigating counter-complaints: A roadmap

So, you found yourself dealing with what appears to be a counter-complaint in the investigation you are conducting. Before embarking on this bend in the road, the first step, and likely the most obvious, is to confirm what you are dealing with and whether it affects your mandate.

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Feuille de route sur comment enquêter les plaintes reconventionnelles

Ainsi, vous retrouvez face à ce qui semble être une plainte reconventionnelle (« a counter-complaint » en anglais) dans l’enquête que vous conduisez. Avant d’aborder ce nouveau virage, la première étape, et probablement la plus évidente, est de confirmer ce à quoi vous avez faire et si cela affecte votre mandat.

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A refresher on the “duty of care” – Who do we owe it to? | Petit rappel sur le « devoir de diligence », à qui est-il dû ?

Workplace investigations have been around for quite some time as a way for diligent employers to address potential issues hindering the workplace. If, as a result of its long-standing use, they no longer appear cryptic in the eyes of some employees and employers, they still carry a perfume of mystery and elicit questions for many others. In my practice, most of the questions I hear from parties and witnesses in an investigation are procedure-based, pertaining to confidentiality or the length of the process.

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Investigations involving white fragility

If you are an investigator like me, you may have noticed the term “white fragility” has emerged in some of your cases, especially when the investigation involves claims of race-based harassment and/or discrimination.  This may be as part of a complainant’s allegation, as in the respondent engaged in “white fragility,” or as part of a respondent’s response, as in “this is not a case of ‘white fragility’.” The concept has sparked much debate, as not everyone agrees with it. 

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