Upcoming Webinar: May 7, 2024 @ 12:00 P.M. (ET)  |  Cultural Initiatives in Policing: Part 2 – Calgary Police Service  |  Register Today!

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.

Filtered By:

What the Premier League clearly did not learn from the Miami Dolphins

Just last week, I wrote about the Miami Dolphins’ swift and effective response to offensive tweets posted by a player in response to the NFL’s draft of its first openly gay player, Michael Sam. Within a week, news of offensive and sexist e-mails written by Richard Scudamore, the Chief Executive of the Premier League, were

Read More

What do Halifax potholes and workplace investigation problems have in common?

I have been “away” for the last number of years, and here I am, back in Halifax, with my own workplace investigation practice. My pleasure at being home has been tempered by the potholes populating Halifax streets. As I was bobbing and weaving down roads leading toward and away from everywhere, I started thinking about

Read More

Making justice more accessible – the changing face of employment law litigation

Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin is well known for her outspoken views about access to justice.  Chief Justice McLachlin has for many years written and spoken about the unaffordability of our legal system. She has been critical of our system, noting that trials have become the norm and that delay is rampant, making it impossible for

Read More

Feeling charitable? There’s a workplace policy for that!

On May 2, 2014, Global News reported that the French Parliament will now allow workers to anonymously donate days off to help co-workers dealing with a seriously ill child. This news item caused me recall approximately eight years ago when, as a parent, I sat beside my then 2 year old son at Sick Kids

Read More

B.C. bank botches investigation

“CIBC was cavalier, insensitive, and reckless. They forged ahead with a termination for cause based on inaccurate and incomplete information despite knowing they had a heightened responsibility to get it right.” This is the way The Honourable Mr. Justice Wong of the British Columbia Supreme Court described the CIBC’s decision to dismiss an employee for

Read More

An $800,000 cautionary investigation tale from Alberta

In what the arbitration panel called a tragic case, an employee of the City of Calgary has been awarded $800,000 in damages (The City of Calgary and CUPE, Local 38, 2013 CanLII 88297). The employee, who worked as a clerk in the City’s Roads division, was sexually assaulted on a number of occasions by a

Read More

All in the family (business): The impact of family ties on an employer’s HR obligations

My grandfather started a small business fifty years ago, a modest par-3 golf course, which my mother, aunts and uncles continue to operate today.  I worked at the golf course during my summer holidays and performed every duty from minding the cash register, serving food, and hurrying slow golfers to picking up garbage.  Even then,

Read More