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Serious insight for serious situations.

Serious insight for serious situations.

Milligan v. Maczak Holdings Ltd. – Sexual harassment, and the perils of a policy-less workplace

On September 29, 2023, the Human Rights Commission of Prince Edward Island (“PE HRC”) rendered its decision in the matter of Milligan v, Maczak Holdings Ltd. , a case involving sexual harassment of a restaurant worker at Smitty’s Family Restaurant (“Smitty’s”) in Charlottetown, PEI.

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Sex, lies, and celebrities: What employers can learn from the Russell Brand allegations

In recent weeks, allegations have been raised about actor/comedian Russell Brand regarding various instances of sexual assault, emotional abuse, and bullying from four anonymous women. As outlined below, this story provides several important takeaways for employers and investigators who deal with these issues.

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Québec cases we should all know about, part 1: Navigating gender-based harassment in the workplace: A look at Lippé v. Québec

Québec case law often goes unnoticed in the rest of Canada and remains inaccessible to most workplace investigators across the country, primarily due to linguistic reasons. This situation is quite unfortunate since Québec courts, tribunals, and adjudicators render interesting and innovative decisions every year in various areas of interest, including human rights and labour law.

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Quelques décisions du Québec que vous devriez connaître, partie 1: Comprendre le harcèlement fondé sur le genre : un regard sur Lippé c. Québec

La jurisprudence québécoise passe souvent inaperçue dans les autres provinces canadiennes et demeure inaccessible pour la grande majorité des enquêteurs et enquêteuses en milieu de travail du pays, et ce, pour des raisons principalement linguistiques. Cette situation est malheureuse, puisque chaque année, les tribunaux québécois rendent des décisions intéressantes et innovatrices dans plusieurs domaines d’intérêt, dont en droits de la personne et en droit du travail.

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We believe you  . . .  Sometimes

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.

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

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.

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