One of the pillars to a sound investigation process is timeliness. Complaints and allegations of inappropriate workplace behaviour must be taken seriously, and demonstrating this seriousness means giving immediate attention to the matter. That being said, those of us who receive these complaints and allegations are usually juggling many other things, and it is often
Re SUN and Regina Qu’Appelle Regional Health Authority (2017 CanLII 87132 (SK LA)) is a cautionary tale for any employer who has ever relied upon circumstantial evidence to make a finding against an employee. In this case, the Grievor, a Registered Nurse with a history of substance abuse, was alleged to have stolen morphine from
The Supreme Court of Canada has expanded the definition of workplace discrimination beyond the formal employer – employee relationship. In a decision dated December 15th, 2017, the Court decided that if there is nexus between two people working at the same location or on the same project within an employment context, even if there is
Sexual harassment in the workplace has been all over the news lately. Most people are hopefully getting the message that harassment in all its forms, including vexatious comments and non-consensual touching, is unacceptable. Employers need to keep in mind, however, that even consensual workplace relationships can come with a host of problems. Although they are
A November 2017 BC Human Rights Tribunal decision shines some light on how investigations into harassment complaints are conducted at the Vancouver Public Library (VPL). The decision, Hawknes v. Vancouver Public Library (No. 2), 2017 BCHRT 250, is the second of two procedural decisions involving allegations of harassment, discrimination and failure to accommodate in employment.
As the news brings daily revelations about workplace harassment, and in particular sexual harassment, we continue to think about additional tools employers and other institutions can leverage to combat the problem. At Rubin Thomlinson, we believe that one of the most invaluable and underutilized tools that employers have in their workplace harassment tool kits is
For want-to-be or fledgling workplaces investigators, no subject is more difficult than considering how to assess credibility. In our experience, while most new investigators can easily grasp the concept of “credibility” and recognize when they find or do not find a particular witness to be credible, they often struggle to translate this understanding into writing.
On Tuesday, November 7, 2017, the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, tabled Bill C-65, An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code (harassment and violence), the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act and the Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 1, for its First Reading. The bill, which applies to both
Since our case law update last month, we continue to see important workplace investigation issues arise at labour arbitration cases in BC. We even saw that one of the cases mentioned in our last update was reconsidered, and affirmed. Here are two noteworthy workplace investigation-related cases from BC in October. Both of them relate to
Late last week, the provincial government tabled Bill 175, the Safer Ontario Act, which contained extensive provisions to overhaul policing in Ontario. The Bill makes changes to a number of pieces of legislation, including the Police Services Act, which had been in place for twenty-seven years. The proposed legislation includes changes to the civilian oversight
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