Workplace Investigations: Perfection Is Not The Standard

A recent decision of Ontario's Superior Court of Justice provides helpful guidance to Ontario employers on the standard of workplace investigation in the context of a termination for cause. The Court also provides helpful commentary dealing with claims of moral damages and damages for variable compensation.

In Arora v ICICI Bank of Canada, 2024 ONSC 4115, the Court confirmed the longstanding principle that where an employee is being investigated for misconduct, they do not have a free-standing right to a certain kind of investigation—the standard of an investigation for employers is not perfection. An imperfect investigation can still support an employee's termination for cause because any flaws in the investigation speak to the weight of evidence and not the fundamental question of whether there is cause to terminate.