Rubin Thomlinson | Insights, News & Articles

Why reply? Reflecting on the significance of reply interviews in a workplace investigation

September 5, 2024 | By Elizabeth Bingham

As a workplace investigator and a team lead for a group of fellow RT investigators, I spend a fair amount of time thinking about reply interviews. Anyone who has conducted an investigation themselves or reviewed an investigator’s report can probably appreciate why: the reply or follow-up interview is a place where the need to balance the fairness, neutrality, thoroughness, and confidentiality of the investigation really comes into focus.

A funky situation: Is disciplining an employee for body odour a form of discrimination?

September 5, 2024

A random question occurred to me the other day, “Could disciplining an employee due to their body odour be a form of discrimination?” This question occurred to me when I did a double take reading the headline of the Washington Post article, “Lawsuit says American Airlines kicked 8 Black men off plane, citing body odor.”

Say what you mean – Plain language and workplace policies

September 5, 2024

My colleagues Christine Thomlinson and Lori-Ann Green recently wrote about how an organization’s respect at work policies, often written to comply with its legal obligations and to correspond with legislative requirements, may use legal and technical language which can be difficult to interpret, and may, from the perspective of those whom the policy is designed to protect, not be easy to navigate.1

Allegations of investigator bias evaluated by Federal Court in Whitelaw v. Canada

August 27, 2024 | By Chantel Levy

As a workplace investigator, maintaining neutrality and avoiding bias is always top of mind. I found a recent Federal Court case, Whitelaw v. Canada (Attorney General), to be helpful, because it provides a great summary of the case law in this area, and insight into what the Court evaluates when dealing with allegations of procedural unfairness in investigations.

Broken promises: The perils of guaranteeing anonymity to complainants in workplace investigations

August 22, 2024 | By Liliane Gingras

At the outset of an investigation, a complainant may ask whether their identity will be disclosed to the person who is the subject of the complaint (the “respondent”). Investigators need to be careful about how they answer that question.

How do policies help? A journey through a typical respectful workplace policy

August 14, 2024 | By Christine Thomlinson, | By Lori-Ann Green

Most Canadian jurisdictions require employers to have policies that address issues like workplace harassment, discrimination, and violence. In our investigation practice, we read many of these “respect at work” policies, and the overwhelming majority of them are clearly written to specifically comply with legislative requirements.

Quelques décisions du Québec que vous devriez connaître, partie 2 : L’affaire Guillaume, ou ce qu’il ne faut pas faire quand vos employés réagissent au racisme en emploi

August 13, 2024 | By Frédérick J. Doucet

La jurisprudence québécoise regorge de décisions particulièrement intéressantes pour les personnes menant des enquêtes en milieu de travail et pour les employeurs.

Québec cases we should all know about, part 2: The Guillaume Case, or what (not) to do when employees react to racism at work

August 13, 2024 | By Frédérick J. Doucet

Québec’s legal landscape is rich with cases that are particularly interesting for workplace investigators and employers, although many remain overlooked due to the lack of English translations.

FAQs About Workplace Restoration

July 22, 2024 | By Dana J. Campbell-Stevens

Janice Rubin and I recently completed a two-part webinar series on workplace restoration. During the sessions, we received several interesting questions, all of which we did not get the opportunity to answer. The questions were excellent and thought provoking and represent some of the questions that we are frequently asked when engaging in this work.

How understanding personality differences can help with workplace restoration

July 9, 2024 | By Dana J. Campbell-Stevens

In workplace restoration processes, when engaging with the respective parties, it often becomes apparent to me that the root of their conflict may be due to differences in their respective personalities. That is because those differences impact how they communicate, how they approach their work, their expectations of others, their expectations of themselves and so much more.

Serious insight for serious situations.