Public Institutions, Procedural Fairness And Workplace Investigations

A recent case out of Quebec discusses the level of procedural fairness that may be owed during a workplace investigation for a public institution.

In Ditomene c. Boulanger,¹ two employees at a CEGEP (a public school) filed a complaint of psychological harassment under Quebec law against their superior, Mr. Ditomene. The CEGEP retained Ms. Boulanger as an external investigator. During the course of the investigation, Mr. Ditomene refused to cooperate because he felt Ms. Boulanger was not following the CEGEP's harassment policy. However Ms. Boulanger continued her investigation and, based on its outcome, the CEGEP terminated Mr. Ditomene. He sued Ms. Boulanger under Quebec's civil law version of negligence, alleging breaches of procedural fairness in the investigation process as the faults which caused him harm.