Category: Articles of Interest

Jeff Gray and Janet McFarland
The Globe and Mail

Published Saturday, Aug. 24 2013, 8:00 AM EDT
Last updated Saturday, Aug. 24 2013, 4:53 PM ED

Norman Hawe, 78, and his wife, Georgette, 84, have spent their retirement volunteering with the Salvation Army, travelling the world to feed the poor and build homes and churches. Mr. Hawe, a carpenter who also worked on the blast furnaces in Hamilton’s steel mills, specializes in constructing giant wooden crosses.

An engaging story teller with a booming laugh, he becomes more soft spoken when he recounts the events that wiped out his and Georgette’s retirement savings. In 2007, Mr. Hawe learned that he had sunk $450,000 in what turned out to be an illegal scheme in which investors were told their money was placed in a portfolio of mortgages. The funds were actually diverted for other uses, a financial trap that forced the couple to sell their house. Continue reading Crime Without Punishment: Canada’s Investment Fraud Problem

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

Financial Post: June 04, 2013.  All Rights Reserved.

Employees who resign, claiming “constructive dismissal,” are effectively taking a leap of faith without a safety net. This usually arises from the common misconception that employers cannot deleteriously alter their terms of employment. When they are advised that they have been demoted, disciplined, moved to a branch office or had their pay frozen or reduced, they view it as a welcome invitation to resign and sue. Continue reading When Can an Employer Demote You with Legal Impunity?

Financial Post: January 30, 2013.  All Rights Reserved.

Greed and dishonesty offend, but the lying and cover-up often prove fatal, as the judgment in Mykki Cavic v. Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd. shows.

Mykki Cavic was a night floor merchandise supervisor and 19-year employee of Costco, responsible for more than 20 staff. Her compensation included coverage in a group benefit plan. Self-insured, Costco paid the claims, but retained Manulife to administer its plan. Manulife would refer a claim it considered dubious or fraudulent to Costco, which would in turn investigate. Continue reading What to Do When Your Staff Lies to You

Financial Post: November 14, 2012.  All Rights Reserved.

Like gold, housing and the market, wrongful dismissal is cyclical. Just as I’ve been advising employers for the past several years that the law favours them, it has changed yet again.

For a while, smart employers had little to fear from employment litigation, with cause becoming easier to establish, constructive dismissal harder for employees to win and fired employees being required to return to their employers to work out their notice period. However, matters have just reversed. Continue reading Dismissal Law Now Favours Employees

Financial Post: March 15, 2012.  All Rights Reserved.

We all pay lip service to the presumption “innocent until proven guilty” even when guilt seems likely. We are presumed to know it is unacceptable to deem someone a criminal when they have yet to be convicted, even if it seems merely a matter of time. But does this hold true in the employment realm?

It is often difficult to determine how to proceed when an employee is charged with a criminal offence. It is easier to shrug off concerns if the charges are minor, but if they deal with drugs, theft, fraud, or sexual assault – you have a duty to your business and your other employees. Continue reading Criminality Can Be a Tough Tightrope Walk

Financial Post: February 03, 2012.  All Rights Reserved.

Following free legal advice can sometimes end up costing you what you didn’t pay in the first place.

This came to mind recently when I happened upon a legal Question & Answer opinion column in a free paper distributed in many Canadian cities titled: “There’s often a big difference between what the law says and what people can actually get away with.” Continue reading Picking a Lawyer on the Cheap Might Saddle You with Unwanted Costs Later On

Financial Post: February 02, 2012.  All Rights Reserved.

While corporate Canada talks about cost savings, the following are some common practices employers could dispense with to save money:

Workplace investigations. This is the biggest boondoggle in employment law. In one case I know of, a hospital’s lawyer recommended a friend from another firm to investigate whether a low-level employee was terminated with cause. The legal fees were several times what a judge, at most, could have awarded. Continue reading Avoid These Costs of Letting Go

Financial Post: June 10, 2011. All Rights Reserved.

Snooping on employees is increasingly fair game. The question is seldom whether it is legal but rather whether it will offend the sensibility of the court. As in much of employment law, in providing counsel, the law is subordinate to this “smell test.” So what is the legal balance between the employer’s right to protect its interest and the employee’s right to privacy? Continue reading When It’s Ok to Spy on Employees

National Post: June 16, 2010. All Rights Reserved.

Building a “cause” case isn’t about throwing mud against a wall and hoping enough will stick.

Too often, employers fail to take action against employees whom they have good reason to believe are dishonest. When they finally decide to fire them, concerned they don’t have definite proof, they instead rely on allegations. Continue reading Not All Acts of Dishonesty Are Alike