Serious insight for serious situations.

Serious insight for serious situations.

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Particular problems with making bald allegations against dismissed employees

August 25, 2016

As justification for offering reduced termination packages to departing employees, employers often make bald and generalized allegations of misconduct and/or substandard performance. Although this aggressive approach sometimes has its advantages during the preliminary phases of negotiating a termination package, employers may face unintended consequences if the matter subsequently becomes litigious. The Supreme Court of Canada

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Who do you choose? Workplace investigator selection in the Ontario and federal jurisdictions

August 25, 2016

I can almost hear the whirr of printers in human resources departments across Ontario pumping out the recent Ministry of Labour “Code of Practice to Address Workplace Harassment under Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act [OHSA]” (“the Code of Practice”). This Code of Practice will no doubt become the go-to manual for Ontario employers as they

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Ensuring witness statement accuracy in investigations

August 12, 2016 | By Cory Boyd

As an external investigator, I conduct investigations for various organizations using their policies and procedures as the basis for my process. Sometimes these organizations include within their policy a requirement that parties and witnesses be given the opportunity to review and sign off on my interview notes, or a statement that I have prepared based

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Taming Twitter: 5 ways to manage customer-driven harassment of employees on social media

August 10, 2016

For any modern, public-facing organization, a social media presence has come to feel less like a “nice feature” and more like an absolute “must-have” to stay competitive and relevant. In particular, today’s customers demand and, indeed, expect a social media platform where they can receive succinct, immediate, one-on-one support without having to interact with a

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150 Words

July 29, 2016 | By Christine Thomlinson

I chose this quote months ago when the idea for 150 Words was born. For me, it underscores the importance of our work with employers in promoting respect in the workplace, and the corresponding positive impact this has on people’s working experience: We need human rights. Whether we like it or not, religious, ethnic and

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Are your restrictive covenants enforceable?

July 18, 2016

It is no secret that Canadian courts have a strong aversion to restrictive covenants in the employment context.  The common law presumption has long been that such obligations are restraints on trade, and are therefore prima facie unenforceable unless they are reasonable between the parties and with reference to the public interest. Courts generally consider

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150 Words

June 30, 2016 | By Janice Rubin

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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He said, she said: Assessing credibility and Bill 132

June 17, 2016

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?

June 15, 2016 | By Janice Rubin

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

June 15, 2016 | By Cory Boyd

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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