Serious insight for serious situations.

Serious insight for serious situations.

Insights

Reflections and news direct from Rubin Thomlinson.
Subscribe to receive updates of interest to you.

SUBSCRIBE

Filtered By:

An Ounce of Prevention: Sport Manitoba’s proactive approach to safe sport

January 23, 2020
| By Marisha Roman

News about safety in amateur sport in Canada is often about the gaps – whether it be policy, resources or oversight — in the sport environment that provides the opportunity for misconduct and results in bullying, harassment, abuse and harm to individuals. We hear about the gaps only after the harm has occurred. And we often hear that the individuals who are victimized did not know where to go to seek advice and support about what to do or they attempted to report and were not heard.

Read More

Somewhere over the rainbow: Dealing with evidence stored on a cloud

January 21, 2020
| By Pamela Vlasic

In our digital era, investigators must be increasingly technologically savvy. Evidence can take on many forms, including texts, emails and social media accounts. Many employers provide company-issued phones, which, more often than not, happen to be iPhones that are controlled by Apple IDs and rely on virtual storage. As the workplace is further digitized, and as more offices become mobile or virtual, investigations will naturally be dealing with evidence that is stored virtually on a cloud. As the decision District of Houston v. Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 2086 (“District of Houston”) illustrates, sometimes when evidence is stored virtually, it is not so easy to access.

Read More

T.M. v. Government of Manitoba: Important Lessons on Workplace Harassment for Employers, Employees, and Investigators

January 17, 2020
| By Katharine Montpetit

A recent decision of the Manitoba Human Rights Commission¹ has clarified the extent of an employer’s obligation to provide its employees with a safe and respectful workplace. The decision – the first time the Human Rights Commission has considered a complaint of harassment on the basis of sexual orientation – is a powerful one, and is full of important takeaways for employers, employees, and workplace investigators alike.

Read More

Feelings are Not Evidence

January 2, 2020
| By Janela Jovellano

As a workplace investigator, my work involves making factual findings where I must determine whether an alleged incident occurred. Over the years, I have interviewed individuals who have conveyed to me their sincere feeling that the alleged incident I am investigating has happened but have not been able to provide any other evidence or witness to corroborate their feeling. For instance, I have had witnesses state that while they did not see the alleged conduct occur between the complainant and the respondent, they feel it happened based on previous observations of or similar interactions they have had with the respondent.

Read More