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Vos politiques sont-elles utiles? Parcours à travers une politique type de respect en milieu de travail

November 5, 2024 | By Christine Thomlinson, | By Lori-Ann Green, | By Frédérick J. Doucet

Dans la plupart des juridictions canadiennes, les employeurs sont tenus d’adopter des politiques visant à traiter d’enjeux comme le harcèlement, la discrimination et la violence en milieu de travail. Notre travail d’enquête nous mène à lire beaucoup de ces politiques de « respect au travail » et il appert que la grande majorité d’entre elles sont clairement rédigées dans le but de se conformer aux exigences législatives.

Too old, too young, and too in-between – no age is the right age for working women

November 4, 2024 | By Heather Shields

If you have encountered an allegation of ageism while conducting a workplace investigation, chances are that it involved an older employee who was passed over in favour of someone younger.

Beyond harassment and discrimination investigations: Investigating employee honesty, loyalty, and integrity

October 29, 2024 | By Liliane Gingras

For many years prior to joining Rubin Thomlinson LLP, my work involved the investigation of matters that did not relate to harassment or discrimination. I held in-house roles in the private and public sectors that involved the oversight of whistleblower programs.

The continued prevalence of sexual harassment in workplaces: Where do we go from here?

October 22, 2024 | By Katharine Montpetit

Two recent studies out of the United States are sobering reminders that workplaces still have work to do in combatting sexual harassment. Tulane University’s National Study of Sexual Harassment and Assault in the United States (“Tulane Report”) found no significant change in the prevalence of workplace sexual harassment between now and their first study conducted in 2018.

A deep dive on deepfakes: Considering the intersection between investigations and deepfake technology

October 16, 2024 | By Elizabeth Bingham

By now, you’ve probably heard about deepfakes. Maybe you followed the story of Taylor Swift, who was targeted by deepfakes that appeared to show her endorsing Donald Trump, or maybe you’ve seen concerns raised about how deepfakes of politicians could impact our next election here in Canada.

Five investigation report problems and solutions: Tales untold from our recent webinar

October 1, 2024 | By Liliane Gingras

I recently presented a webinar with my colleagues, Janice Rubin and Elizabeth Bingham, called, “How to be a Good Second Reader.” The webinar was aimed at those who, like me, review investigation reports.

Handling anonymous complaints – lessons from case law

September 12, 2024 | By Lori-Ann Green

When it comes to anonymity in workplace investigations, there are various facets. One of our partners, Liliane Gingras, recently wrote a blog about the risks of promising complainants a guarantee of anonymity throughout the investigative process. However, I would like to talk about situations where complaints are made by individuals who are completely unknown to the employer.

Mushy mandates and scope creep: how investigators lose their way

September 11, 2024 | By Cory Boyd

“If you can’t write out your mandate in a short and simple paragraph, don’t start.”
When delivering our Workplace Investigation Fundamentals sessions, this is how I start the discussion on mandate. Simply put, an investigator’s mandate is the thing (or things) that they are being asked to do, the decision (or decisions) that they are being asked to make.

Serious insight for serious situations.