She serves as a faculty member for the Association of Workplace Investigators and frequently gives presentations on
workplace investigations for Society of Human Resource Management chapters, the Association of Workplace Investigators, and other professional groups, as well as firm clients.
Team members regularly present on
workplace investigations for firm clients and a variety of professional groups including the Society of Human Resource Management chapters, AWI, and more.
In his previous work, Mr. De La Cruz assisted in conducting
workplace investigations for government employers faced with claims of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.
She has also assisted various government entities in responding to public records requests and utilizes her considerable experience to conduct
workplace investigations for public entities.
Due to his broad range of experience, he has been called upon to conduct
workplace investigations for municipal clients and has been engaged as a hearing officer in grievance proceedings.
Not exact matches
She provides consulting and customized training
for clients on a variety of topics, including sexual harassment prevention, conducting internal
workplace investigations, effective documentation and performance management practices
for managers, managing employee medical leaves and disability accommodations requests, and compliance with the myriad of wage and hour laws.
In recent months, Uber has fired more than 20 employees after an
investigation into the company's culture, embarked on major changes to professionalize its
workplace, and is searching
for new executives including a chief operating officer.
We cover investigative principles concerning
workplace harassment, sexual harassment, and discrimination; the types of conduct that constitutes harassment, sexual harassment, and discrimination; remedies available
for sexual harassment; strategies to prevent sexual harassment; practical examples of sexual harassment; how to conduct a
workplace investigation; how to take a written declaration of facts; and how to take an oral declaration of facts.
«They will report in to Eric Holder, who is responsible
for the overall
investigation into Uber's
workplace practices.
Investigations found formaldehyde concentrations in salon air that violated federal limits
for workplaces.
Implementing equal opportunity laws and policies to prevent
workplace discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, and disability status, as well as protecting individuals against reprisal / retaliation
for filing a charge of
workplace discrimination, participating in an
investigation into alleged discriminatory practices, or opposing discriminatory practices.
The usual protections that apply to a «consumer report» conducted
for employment purposes do not apply to
workplace misconduct
investigations.
This session will focus on practical recommendations
for conducting and managing
workplace investigations, particularly in regard to employee misconduct such as harassment and discrimination.
The interview that has lead to an official IGDA
investigation into the
workplace conditions at Team Bondi have had a secondary effect that looks to be just as much a backwards step
for the Australian developer.
Where a
workplace accident has occurred, and the employer has statutory duties under sections 18 and 19 of the OHSA and simultaneously undertakes an internal
investigation, claiming legal privilege over all materials derived as part of that
investigation, an inquiry is properly directed to a referee under Rule 6.45 to determine the dominant purpose
for the creation of each document or bundle of like documents in order to assess the claims of legal privilege.
The High Court recently delivered a very significant judgment on the requirements
for fair procedures in
workplace investigations.
He has significant experience in unionized
workplaces, and acts primarily
for employers, but also unions and employees, and does independent
workplace investigations, thereby providing a unique advantage
for clients.
He also handles Pension Law issues
for clients, in addition to advising and defending employers in
Workplace Safety and Health inspections,
investigations, and charges.
Here are five tips
for employers to keep in mind when conducting
workplace harassment
investigations:
Following an
investigation during which Stewart stated he believed he might be addicted to cocaine, the employer terminated his employment
for breaching the Policy and
for compromising the safety of the
workplace.
The firm's areas of practice include: advising the multinational and multi-jurisdictional employer; Industrial Relations Board proceedings; collective agreements and bargaining; compensation and benefits plans; construction labour relations; employee relations; executive employment agreements and compensation; grievance arbitration; human rights and accommodation; injunctive court proceedings and judicial review; interest arbitration; Labour Relations Board proceedings; management training; mediation and alternative dispute resolution; occupational health and safety; outsourcing; pay equity; privacy; responding to union organizing and applications
for certification sale or closure; strike or lock - out preparation and business continuity planning;
workplace investigations;
workplace safety and insurance; wrongful and constructive dismissal litigation.
For guidance in conducting
workplace investigations, please refer to our earlier blog post here.
Unless an employer wishes to exceed the minimum legislative requirements
for investigations into
workplace violence, because
investigations into
workplace violence may now be even more clearly differentiated from the requirements
for investigations into
workplace harassment, employers may wish to have separate
workplace violence and
investigation policies from those addressing
workplace harassment and respectful
workplaces.
One notable change is a requirement that the
workplace harassment program provide that information gathered about an incident or complaint of
workplace harassment will not be disclosed unless necessary
for the
investigation or corrective action regarding the incident.
Response to 1 and 2: Because the amended OHSA provisions that take effect on September 8, 2016, provide more detailed provisions pertaining to
workplace harassment and
investigations of
workplace harassment, this will be an important determination
for employers who have multiple policies.
First, the Bill provides that the results of an employer
investigation into an incident and complaint of
workplace harassment, and any report created, are not reports respecting health and safety
for the purposes of the section 25 (2)(l) and 25 (2)(m) OHSA provisions requiring production to the JHSC, safety representative or workers.
Historic matters believed to be long over may be actionable and an increasing number of
workplace events are to be reported to the MOL
for investigation.
Tess regularly conducts
workplace investigations and has appeared
for clients in mediations and conciliations.
First, the minimum standards
for a compliant
workplace investigation are not clear.
Employers should conduct
workplace investigations because they may have a legal duty to do so, because there may be practical consequences
for failing to do so, and because conducting a
workplace investigations can help mitigate risk.
Develop a
workplace investigation protocol — Furthermore, employers should consider developing a specific procedure
for workplace investigations, and consider the circumstances under which
workplace investigations should be conducted by internal or external investigators.
Employers will have an obligation to keep resulting
workplace harassment
investigation reports confidential, unless the disclosure is necessary
for the purposes of investigating or taking corrective action with respect to the incident or complaint, or is otherwise required by law.
Earlier this summer, we introduced our three - part series on
workplace investigations (link here) by explaining what they are and offering some proactive strategies
for employers to use to ensure that they are conducted properly.
If done correctly, a
workplace investigation will create a paper trail of the employer's response to an incident or complaint and the reason
for its actions (e.g., decision to discipline, terminate, or do nothing).
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice (the «Court») recently indicated that employers may be liable
for a breach of the duty of good faith where they fail to provide due process to employees when conducting
workplace investigations.
The new legislation gave the commission the power to do systemic reviews
for any aspect of policing, McPhail explains, and the Minister of Public Safety requested an
investigation into
workplace harassment in the RCMP.
Given that Google has already come under
investigation for gender bias in the
workplace, it needed to take this very seriously, so I believe the correct outcome has been reached.
Ms. Kaplan and other panel members addressed best practices
for conducting a neutral fact - finding
investigation to resolve
workplace discrimination and harassment complaints.
While Bill 132 amends a number of statutes, the focus has mainly been OHSA, which increases obligations
for employers with respect to
workplace investigations related to complaints of harassment or sexual harassment.
Citing «systematic disregard»
for professional medical assessments of injured workers, advocates have asked Ontario's government watchdog to launch an
investigation into the province's
Workplace Safety and Insurance Board.
In addition, OHSA would require that employers have measures and procedures
for workers to report incidents of
workplace harassment and
for the permissible disclosure of information during and after the conclusion of the
investigation.
Employment counsel who have conducted
investigations of
workplace harassment
for decades know the importance of having women in significant leadership roles.
Our
Workplace Investigations practice is chaired by Britt - Marie Cole - Johnson, a partner, who serves on the Board of Directors of AWI and as a faculty member
for AWI Training Institute
for Workplace Investigators and
Workplace Investigations Basics Seminar.
This case also reminds us that internal
investigations may still be appropriate in some cases, despite the more rigorous legal standards
for workplace investigations now applicable in Ontario.
Failing to conduct proper
workplace investigations can have monumental repercussions
for employers.
If you're a human resources professional, manager, or in - house counsel, the responsibility
for overseeing a
workplace investigation may fall on your shoulders.
It was the first piece of legislation that actually compelled employers to perform risk assessments of potential violence in the
workplace (all violence, not just sexual violence), institute programs and policies
for workplace violence and harassment (all harassment, not just sexual), give training to employees with respect to both violence and harassment, and — most importantly — develop specific procedures to enable both the reporting and
investigation of employee complaints of harassment.
By: Whitten and Lublin Category: Cause
for Dismissal, Reasonable Notice, Severance Packages,
Workplace Investigations Comments Off on Courts sympathetic to employee dishonesty
Employers may conduct
workplace investigation because they have a legal obligation to do so, because they have committed to do so in their own
workplace policies, because conducting a
workplace investigation may help mitigate risk, or
for any combination of these reasons.
Tammy Miser, founder of the United Support and Memorial
for workplace Fatalities, also stressed the importance of family members being involved in OSHA's accident
investigation process.