Serious insight for serious situations.

Serious insight for serious situations.

What I’ve learned from training

Having spent almost half of this last month training individuals on how to conduct workplace investigations, I’ve been involved in some very interesting discussions with the over 75 people who have attended those sessions.  Here are some of the highlights: 1. Internal investigators are anxious to understand when they should not be the one to

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How not to conduct an investigation…yet another example

The number of decisions dealing with how not to conduct workplace investigations continues to grow. One of these decisions, Ditomene v Boulanger, 2013 QCCQ 842, comes from the Quebec Court and while the case was decided under the Civil Code of Quebec, it provides a laundry list of flaws that should be avoided in a

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How does “older” old age affect reasonable notice? Consider this trilogy of cases

Last week in our Employers’ Alert, we wrote about a number of recent age discrimination cases.  We also referred to a number of American cases, and we pondered whether there would be an increase in age discrimination cases given the aging of the Canadian workplace, but also the presence of employees who are older than

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AODA deadlines approaching quickly

With Halloween behind us, it’s time to look ahead to another big date looming on the calendar. Yes, that’s right, another AODA deadline is fast approaching. Unlike under the AODA Customer Service Standard, an organization has a variety of deadlines to meet under the Integrated Accessibility Standard (“IAS”) depending on the nature of the requirements.

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Ahh, the lure of self-employment…

According to a report released last week, more Canadians are joining the ranks of the self-employed, with self-employment climbing 3.6% in the last year. It seems that employers are reluctant to offer permanent positions and expand payrolls in times of economic uncertainty. In addition, many older workers seem to like the idea of being their

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Ethical issues in employment negotiations: Not avoiding the unavoidable

This morning, at the Law Society of Upper Canada, I chaired a panel composed of several “well-seasoned” employment lawyers. The panel discussion was “broadcast” via teleseminar, and the five of us, plus an intimate gathering of 1500 lawyers and paralegals who gathered around their computers, delved into the ethical issues that confront us as employment

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Mind your own business!

Recently I was asked to conduct an investigation by an organization that had received a complaint from another organization with which they did business, on behalf of one of its employees. While many of the investigation steps will be the same as in a more traditional internal investigation, the request did raise some important process

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Let’s talk billions: The hidden costs of bullying

Over the years I’ve encountered many organizations where bullying is a pervasive part of the culture. In some cases, I’ve represented victims of this behaviour. In others, I’ve conducted investigations into allegations of bullying. Sometimes this has even come up in training sessions where I’ve been asked to come and speak to employees about respect

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My fellow citizens of earth…

My colleague passed along a copy of this fantastic note which has a “citizen of earth” chasing off the parking police on behalf of a stranger, all in the interests of good karma. Last week, one of my partners wrote about a successful negotiation that she was involved in on behalf of one of her

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What makes a severance negotiation successful?

I recently concluded a severance negotiation for a client.  It went very smoothly and efficiently, with my employee client satisfied with the result.  He avoided wrongful dismissal litigation, and, after a lengthy employment relationship with his employer, he managed to leave on good terms.  Not every negotiation ends this way.  I don’t think that the

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