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Serious insight for serious situations.

Serious insight for serious situations.

Insights

Reflections and news direct from Rubin Thomlinson.
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150 Words

July first marks the one year countdown to our country’s 150th birthday. To celebrate this milestone, our lawyers will be writing a special blog on the first of each month for the next year. The blog will have no more than 150 words (#150words) from a case, or a legal document, or just something about

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The truth about defamation in workplace terminations

There are a number of “piggyback” claims that we see as part of wrongful dismissal claims against our employer clients – intentional infliction of mental distress; discrimination contrary to human rights legislation etc. Amongst these “piggyback” claims is defamation. An employee may claim that the employer (through one or more of its employees) has made

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He said, she said: Assessing credibility and Bill 132

With Bill 132 set to become law on September 8, 2016 for employers, and, January 1, 2017 for colleges and universities, organizations will have a statutory obligation to investigate workplace sexual harassment and sexual violence allegations and report on the findings. As the Bill 132 changes appertain to colleges and universities, sexual violence is defined

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Should you conduct a workplace investigation for your own client?

No. We do not think so if what you and your client would like to accomplish is a neutral, unbiased and objective investigation, and a neutral, unbiased and objective report. In a post-Bill 132 world, where investigation processes and reports will be scrutinized more closely, we do not recommend this approach. When you act for

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Is being bathed by a woman a legitimate creed-based requirement? Ontario Human Rights Tribunal requires evidence from Rastafarian

Last year I blogged about a decision of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario that considered the definition and scope of the ground of creed. While the decision laid out a clear analytical framework, the facts of the case were unique and of such specificity that it might have been difficult to see how the

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Ontario court potentially expands the actionable duty of good faith to workplace investigations

In recent years, there has been a growing incidence of legal disputes involving inadequate workplace investigations.  While these disputes often involve an employer’s failure to comply with prescribed statutory duties (e.g. as per the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the Ontario Human Rights Code, etc.), courts have equally demonstrated an increased willingness to impose upon

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New regulation for colleges and universities under Bill 132: Some answers, but more questions

As I noted in my previous blog post, Bill 132 imposes a number of obligations on colleges and universities regarding sexual violence and harassment through amendments to the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Act. As of January 1, 2017, publicly-funded universities and colleges will each be required to have a sexual violence policy in

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