Tag: Other

Wayne Watson

As investigators, we are called upon to investigate allegations that were brought to our attention by people who expect us to be fair, thorough and impartial throughout our investigations. Organizations invest enormous amounts of time and money to protect their clients as well as their reputations. An overzealous or incompetent investigator can be a real liability to their employers. The cloud that hangs over an organization that conducts and acts on the results of a badly conducted investigation takes a long time to dissipate. Credibility and trust are difficult to earn and extremely easy to lose especially in this media hungry and litigious society we live in. That is why those who attempt to cut corners, or obtain evidence illegally or unethically not only end up doing a disservice to their organization, the complainant, their colleagues and to society as a whole, but most of all to themselves. Throughout my many years in the realm of investigations I have worked with some pretty incredible investigators so I thought that in this column we would look into what makes these investigators a “cut” above the others. Continue reading “Autopsy of an Investigator”

Financial Post: 14 April 2015 Financial Post: (c) 2015 Financial Post. All Rights Reserved.

As any practitioner will tell you, the field of human resources has undergone a sea change. Gone are the days of its role as merely an administrative-payroll arm. Now, HR has become a key part of management with expertise in a variety of specialties related to managing people. Continue reading “If Your HR Department Overlooks the Importance of this Key Role, It Could Cost You”

Financial Post: 10 Feb 2015.  All rights reserved.

Some real-life legal scenarios are so outlandish they resemble a plot for a madcap caper film or a gripping novel about revenge.

In one thrilling episode of Mad Men the ad agency’s top management successfully conspired to jump ship and start a rival agency, over just one giddy weekend in 1963. (They supposedly evaded their employment contracts by inviting a co-conspirator to fire them, expecting he’d then be fired, too.) But in Canada, in 2015, Don Draper would be successfully sued for “breach of fiduciary duty.” Continue reading “Court Ruling Sheds Light on Fiduciary Status”

Financial Post: May 13, 2014.  All Rights Reserved.

Many employers worry that if they fail to provide a dismissed employee with a deserved reference, additional damages could follow. That concern is not without warrant, but careful thought should go into writing that reference. Continue reading “Avoid These Pitfalls When Writing a Reference for a Dismissed Employee”

The battle to prove just cause doesn’t end with termination. Employers can rely on new grounds and win in court even if those grounds are discovered months, or even years, after the termination. But it requires doggedness and determination.

Shelly Harrigan demonstrated that tenacity and won. Continue reading “Already Fired Someone? Evidence Found After Termination Can Still Pay Off”

Financial Post: January 27, 2014.  All Rights Reserved.

Even when a dismissed employee lies on the witness stand, the employee may still come out ahead.

That’s the lesson Stelcrete Industries, and its owners Larry Cohen and his son, Steven, learned. Richard Ludchen began working at the company, which makes and assembles rebar, as a welder and rose to plant superintendent of the Welland, Ont. facility, supervising 16 staff. Continue reading “Employers Should Not Rely on Hearsay to Prove Cause for Dismissal”

Financial Post: January 14, 2014. All Rights Reserved.

I was gobsmacked when I heard that on behalf of Ontario’s doctors Scott Wooder, president of the Ontario Medical Association, had declared that employers should no longer be able to ask employees for sick notes.

My initial presumption was he was either being misquoted or was making an early bid for the most idiotic comment of 2014. But then the Nova Scotia Medical Association chimed in, agreeing with him. Continue reading “No More Doctors’ Notes Will Cause Big Headaches For Employers”

Financial Post: December 17, 2013.  All Rights Reserved.

Here is Howard’s year-end wrap up of the major employment law developments of 2013: Continue reading “Five Big Developments In Employment Law In 2013”

Financial Post: October 1, 2013.  All Rights Reserved.

Two employees, Michael Mosey and Eileen Tremblay, have commenced a well-publicized, but potentially ill-fated, lawsuit against the Ontario Ministry of Labour, claiming it misled them as to their severance entitlement. Continue reading “Company’s Insolvency Turns Good Case into No Case Against Labour Ministry”

Norman Groot, LLB, CFE, CFI
Investigation Counsel PC

On August 24, 2013, the Globe and Mail published an article entitled: Crime Without Punishment: Canada’s Investment Fraud Problem by Jeff Gray & Janet McFarland. In the article, forensic accountant Greg Draper of MNP LLP, a former RCMP investigator, is quoted as stating that often “fraud cases can be hard for police because it is not always clear whether someone is a victim of a fraud or a reckless investor … When things are everybody’s responsibility, sometimes they become nobody’s responsibility.” The article goes on to say that often fraud victims are reluctant to come forward because they are so embarrassed they can’t bring themselves to tell others or report it to police. Continue reading “Fraud Victim or Reckless Investor?: Our Response to Blaming the Victim”