April 20, 2006: 12:30 p.m. EDT

Playback: Monday, April 24, 3:30 - 5pm

Noella Martin

Employer Counsel
Wickwire Holm

Simon Renouf

Union Counsel
U of A & Private Practice

Marisa Pollock

Union Counsel
Sack Goldblatt Mitchell

Some of the questions to be addressed:

• What tools and techniques of investigation are currently available? What legal limits apply to constrain their use?
• Are there timelines for conducting an investigation and imposing discipline?
• How should an interview be conducted with an employee suspected of misconduct, or with potential witnesses? What pitfalls should be avoided in conducting an interview?
• When is union representation required at an interview?
• Do employees have a duty to cooperate with an employer’s investigation? Can they be disciplined for refusing to answer questions? Are they required to respond to queries about another employee’s misconduct?
• What is the effect of a criminal investigation? Is it in the interest of the employer/employee to await completion of a criminal investigation? When is it appropriate/inappropriate to suspend an employee pending trial? What is the impact of a conviction, discharge or acquittal?
• In light of privacy laws, to what extent can employers collect personal information about an employee during an investigation? When is disclosure to third parties of personal employee information, obtained during an investigation, permissible/prohibited?
• In what circumstances does an employee’s assertion of privacy rights prevail over/give way to the need to investigate wrongdoing?
• Is electronic monitoring of email, voicemail, and computer usage legally permissible? What about biometric identification? Lie detector tests?

  
  

Here's what participants said about Lancaster's previous audio conferences:

"Good value for money. We had a number of us on the call for a very low price and we did not have to travel."
— Leslie Kerr, Regional Manager, Human Resources, Ryder Logistics and Transportation

"Excellent. Provided good, useful information. The technology was great!!!"
— Colleen Ionson, Labour Relations Officer, Ontario Nurses' Association

$195, plus GST (Registrations must be paid in advance of the audio conference). Registration costs are per listening site/telephone, so you can have any number of people listening at your location for one low price. Click here for registration information.