Physical violence in the workplace can lead to immediate termination based on the zero tolerance policies we, by now all have in place.  It’s not always the silver bullet to a career ender but it certainly is a good indicator that somebody is spiraling quickly.  Having said that, let’s look at what might drive an individual to commit a physical act toward a co-worker.

If I was a betting man I would always put my chips down on the catalyst being…words.  Words can without a doubt heal or steal the emotion from anyone on the receiving end and leave a lasting impression that can create or decimate a relationship in the workplace or any other setting.  The reality is that even a long lasting marriage can be ended with less than 3 words, whether those words are influenced by a confession or otherwise.  As parents, we continuously remind our children to not ‘tattle’ or don’t be the one to ‘cry wolf’.  Why do we do this?  The short answer is we want them to maintain integrity no matter what age they are.  We continuously make attempts and efforts to influence honest character traits to promote success both socially and professionally as they grow into productive citizens.

Comedians create routines that embellish stories based on truths in their lives, to enhance their routine for the paying customers looking on with raised expectations forcing the act to earn their hard earned money.  History’s greatest moments will forever be etched due to words; the greatest moments in anyone’s personal lives are memorialized by words.  Two simple words ‘I’ and ‘do’ can arguably be the most important words anyone can say.  Words evoke emotion and have an incredible ripple effect as ears accumulatively receive the messages; and in the end it is words that will memorialize us in our legacy.

As obvious as all this is, it is only recently that we have started to take serious action against those in the workplace that hurtfully utilize words with intentions as serious as automatic weapons.  The truth is that even simple innuendos of workplace romances can cause generations of hate and misfortune.  Allegations of workplace romance can quite easily ruin already delicate marriages where several children may be involved; not only for one family but in most cases two.  This is something I like to call The Madoff Effect – the wake that he left we will never know as generations will be forced to grow up with alternate plans due to one man’s malicious agenda.  Slander, libel, character assassination, defamation; these are all terms that can now be descriptors as a result of the misuse of words.

We recently conducted a workplace harassment investigation in a reputable organization where somebody’s world had been turned upside down both personally and professionally based on a co-worker’s spiteful use of words with the intention of simply getting the target off of his shift.  The result turned the town upside down; this is the story of Paul and Bill.

The angry co-worker (Bill) decided that he would start a rumour stating that Paul had been showing inappropriate videos to an 18 year old female summer student with the hope that Paul would simply be removed from the same crew as Bill.  The fact that the organization and most of the workers resided in the same small town caused this plan to end with catastrophic results.  The fact that the summer student’s father began to threaten Paul was the least of his worries.  Paul’s family was in turmoil. He could no longer walk the streets in town; he could no longer go to the grocery store or even attend church as a result of this vicious lie.  Even Bill was shocked at the result of his diabolical plan which continued to spin out of control.  Eventually we were called in to conduct an investigation through interviews of several co-workers who were well aware of this ongoing feud.  The investigation opened a Pandora’s Box that unveiled and implicated Bill in years of bullying with even further intimidated co-workers.  Although the result for Bill was less than desirable, the result of this slander for Paul was irreparable.  In the eyes of the public he would forever be labeled as ‘that guy’ regardless of his innocence because after all, as far as the public was concerned, there must have been some truth to it.

For obvious reasons there has been a great deal of conversation surrounding the United State’s second amendment and the reason(s) and interpretation of its origin.  With the latest speech delivered by the US President vowing to make legislative changes to the “gun laws” it has become clearly illustrated that a great schism has been amplified surrounding this controversial right and the influence it has over the major news stories as of late.  The argument that will always exist when it comes to this topic will be the age old saying “guns don’t kill people, people kill people.”  This is a very accurate statement however the opposing side would argue “that there would be no motor vehicle fatalities if there were no motor vehicles.”  We could continue the debate utilizing different analogies for every product we use on a daily basis but in the end it’s all just speculation.  For the sake of remaining objective what we can do is look at the facts and the statistics we have been equipped with, because after all, the numbers don’t lie.

Last year handguns killed:

48 people in Japan

8 in Great Britain

34 in Switzerland

52 in Canada

58 in Israel

21 in Sweden

42 in West Germany

10, 728 in the United States (Source:  UNODC – UN Office of Drugs and Crime)

How does this affect the workplace?  548 of these events occurred as an act of workplace violence.

Now as bad as that sounds, Columbia, Honduras, and El Salvador are leaps and bounds above the US; Columbia being 12 times that of the US with Honduras and El Salvador roughly 10 times more. (Source:  UNODC – UN Office of Drugs and Crime)

The U.S., accounts for 4.5% of the world population, and about 40% of the planet’s civilian firearms, said Dr. Garen Wintemute, of the University of California, Davis, Medical Center.

The origin of the second amendment pre-dates the constitution and was part of the common law heritage of the thirteen original colonies.  There were a few reasons behind it; however, they may be somewhat outdated at this point; I’ll let you decide.

The fundamental reason for this piece of the constitution was to allow the absolute rights of individuals as: personal security and liberty, and possession of private property, and the right to have and use arms for self-preservation and defense.

The question is: defense against who, and when?

The answer is: when the sanctions of society and laws are found insufficient to restrain the violence of oppression.

To take a piece directly from Sir William Blackstone (an authoritative source of the common law for colonists):

“Nothing … ought to be more guarded against in a free state than making the military power … a body too distinct from the people.”  To prevent such an occurrence, Blackstone not only believed in the individual’s right to have and use arms, but further believed that for its defense, a nation should rely not on a standing army, but the citizen soldier. Plainly, for such a concept to be a reality, it was necessary that all able-bodied males possess and be capable of using arms.

From these historical writings an interpretation could be formed that the military should never be more powerful than the people and the people should always have the right and preparedness to fight back in the event that the state becomes too authoritative.

If this is true then I have but one question; why does the US account for 58 % of the total defense dollars paid out by the world’s top 10 military powers at a staggering $695.7 billion dollars in 2011 alone, (according to the most current statistics available), dwarfing second place China who came in at $120 billion, with Japan nabbing the bronze from the UK at $60 and $59 billion.

Upon review of these statistics and the population of the United States in 2011 (meaning every human of every age on U.S. soil) in order to compete with the government in terms of a civilian militia, each person would have had to spend just over $2,200 on weapons that year.  This also includes the 2,936,396 active and reserve military personnel.

Once again I must remind you that I am in no way being subjective; these are just the numbers.

Subsequent to doing my greatest impression of Sir Isaac Newton and having the numbers speak to me, the one opinion I did form from this, is that there are two types of societies in this world when it comes to bearing their arms; those that use tanks and those that use tank tops.

Technorati Tags: Gun Violence, UN Office of Drugs and Crime, UNODC, Workplace Violence

The holiday season is once again upon us and for many the opinion is that this is the most wonderful time of the year; however, the results of the season benefit us all in terms of the economic contribution coupled with the foreshadowing of the fiscal year ahead.  Fortunately for us in the world of investigations it becomes a land of opportunity due to the fact that even the homebodies make an appearance for their seasonal errands, especially with the black Friday pandemonium which Canada seems to be progressively adopting.

It was this time last year we conducted surveillance on an insurance claim; an individual who’s list of restrictions were as long as a well behaved child’s Christmas list, along with this list the subject had a note stating he couldn’t operate a vehicle in any capacity for any purpose.  This particular individual was somewhat of a recluse and resided in a 12^th floor apartment which made him an especially difficult assignment; however, we continued to keep track of his location by periodically stopping by his residence to ensure his name remained on the controlled access list to the building.  The one major advantage we had was the fact that he was a very tech savvy individual; which of course meant that he frequently utilized social media as an outlet Twitter being one of the services and as you may have guessed we were one of his 26 followers.

We got our break when he announced via tweet a door crasher item for the first few customers of a big box electronics retailer in a Black Friday sale; this particular item was a 50 inch plasma which we knew to be approximately 70lbs.  We also knew most of the other details through the same game changing tweet; the main detail being that the store would have a 6am opening and the lucky recipients of the “door crashing deal” would have to be among the first ones in.  Although this individual clearly hadn’t displayed the same passion or drive in his workplace we had to assume he would do all he could to be in that line.

We began conducting surveillance at 4pm in his building parking lot to ensure we wouldn’t miss his departure; the one crucial detail we were unclear on was the store location he would be attending.  It was approximately 11pm when we witnessed our subject get into his vehicle with no laboured movements I might add; and yes as you guessed it he was driving (restriction breach number 1).  We arrived at the retailer and observed that a small line had begun to congregate as they all clearly had the same goal in mind.  Initially we didn’t count more than 14 (including the investigator) at this time, so we had to assume either the other 12 followers hadn’t yet read his tweet or his influence was less than inspiring in its nature.  The investigator remained in line with the rest of the crowd for the duration of the night which proved to be more of a jovial camping atmosphere as the temperatures were abnormally pleasant.  During this duration the subject was observed moving about frequently with no issues as the evidence was continuously captured with the covert camera held by our undercover “occupy the door crasher line” investigator (restriction breach 2).

The clock now hit the 6am mark and the doors were about to open; the lineup had now reached to about 50 people as the excitement/ aggression grew as though they needed to retreat from the impending sunrise.  As the doors flew open we witnessed our subject (along with many others) hit the runway to deal town as they took off running with a compassion and speed Mr. Bolt himself would be envious of (restriction breach 3,4,5,and 6 – one for each fast moving limb).  The aggression and sense of urgency that had now possessed this new found bargain haven certainly wouldn’t allow for any courtesy, respect, or more importantly ergonomically correct lifting.  Our 180lb subject hoisted up the 70lb unit in a fashion comparable to a mother with newly conjured super strength lifting a car off of her child (restriction breach number 7 and 8 – one for each bicep).

Now you’re probably wondering if our investigator took advantage of any of the deals while he was there.

Even though I’m sure he wanted to, his hands were already full…………of evidence.

If we think about the most common factor involved in all accidents; especially workplace related, it would be hard to argue the fact that attention span, or better yet lack of would be at the top.  For those that would like to argue that alcohol or drugs would play a part they would be correct as well.  Even though, the byproduct of these always equates to an impaired ability in terms of decision making, it is alike to an impaired ability to pay attention or a shortened attention span in general.

In fact, I challenge anyone to argue that the majority of today’s social problems stem from the fact that a person’s attention span has shortened greatly in the past generation.  Now, the saying ‘variety is the spice of life’ certainly wasn’t created anytime recently but the one major difference between then and now is the options we have available, literally at our fingertips.  The idea of getting off the couch to change the channel is appalling to today’s generation.  The term ‘channel surfing’ wouldn’t exist if we had nothing to surf or the convenience wasn’t there to do so.  This practice of ‘surfing’ has now expanded into many more aspects in society and as a result has made a number of life’s components disposable, which were once held in high regard.

What does all this mean, and how does this relate to investigations or anything in the workplace you ask?

In my opinion the number one component that has diminished is the loyalty society now possesses in our work, at home and at play.  The amount of people that move from job to job is unprecedented and could only be kept track through some type of computer program, or better yet a service of some sort…….wait, we have that!  That’s right for many of us without Linkedin we would lose contact with many of our colleagues as they drop into the abyss of the labour pool.  This of course directly affects the workplace because of the fact that retention becomes far more difficult when virtual carrots are continuously being dangled throughout cyberspace trying to apprehend your most valued employees based on the successes and skills that are continuously updated for all to see.

When we talk about our home life and how that has changed, this may be the biggest catalyst for workplace violence.  Listed in the top ten stressors of life, marital problems and divorce always rank in the top five.  This type of stress will always permeate within the workplace and cause a short fuse to those having the experience.  In the vast majority of all family court matters social media has been presented as evidence in some capacity.  This has certainly raised the profile of domestic disputes throughout the workplace in particular, so much so that they now have become a major part of what the human resources branch have since been tasked to monitor whether the relationships are in house or otherwise, as they all have the propensity to lead to workplace violence.

We are witnessing an era where the world has the biggest addiction in history…..technology.  In some cases it is absolutely necessary in order to survive competitively; however, in many cases we have chosen to place a leash around our necks and allow anyone to contact us at anytime.  In many workplaces we have policies in place outlawing the use of these devices during work hours.  Not even 15 years ago we would have had to wait for a break to make contact with anyone on a personal level.  Nowadays while somebody is assembling what could be a lifesaving device on the manufacturing floor, their attention may be divided with the fact that they have to grab a bag of milk on the way home by a reminder they may have just received.

On top of all the compounding expenses to stay competitive in the marketplace, perhaps one of the biggest challenges we face is to ensure that in crucial times we ignore all the distracting options (whether they are technology based or otherwise) and pay attention; after all we are the ones controlling the technology?

In the world of investigations it is of the utmost importance for the investigator to remain virtually invisible yet be able to capture evidence that can be as detailed as the subject’s eye colour; however, quite often the most intricate piece of an investigation is simply to establish identity.   With our population growth and expanding melting pot this task can become progressively difficult, requiring new investigative tools as well as the creativity of the investigators themselves.  Our present economy is another factor that also adds to the complexity with more and more family members being forced to share a residence again emphasizing the importance of establishing identity.

In dealing with these situations the most advantageous point to conduct surveillance would be a time where we can be absolutely certain that the subject will be attending an event or better yet an appointment, keeping in mind that we continuously operate with an objective view point.  In other words we only want the truth as opposed to making an attempt to prove a theory we may have been lead to believe.

In a recent case we ran into all these issues simultaneously in a very busy area in the GTA.  We were to conduct surveillance on a lady who was claiming a leg injury and as a result was unable to walk without the assistance of a cane.  The one big advantage we had in this particular case was the fact that we were armed with a date for her to attend for an assessment.  We had a physical description such as height, age, and weight so with this information we set up outside the subject’s house.  We knew her appointment was at 3pm and that she was at least 30 minutes (without traffic) from where her doctor was located.  At approximately 3:20pm she exited her home with a cane in her hand; however, holding it like a baton rather than a support.  We then observed her walk past the car parked in the driveway and towards the nearest bus stop.  Everything matched the description of the lady we were assigned to except one minor detail, she was wearing a burca completely hiding her face.  We now had to focus on other details that would prove this to be the right person in order to allow the evidence admissible.

As she walked toward the bus stop she realized her bus had already arrived as people were pouring on and her quick step immediately turned to a full out sprint.  Our investigator had hit the jackpot. We now had the lady in question clearly breaching her alleged restrictions.  The investigator continued to focus on her shoes as they were the only articles that stood out from the rest of the traditional garment.  We had now captured the evidence, all we had left to prove was her identity.  We knew she was going to a doctor’s appointment and we knew the location.   Based on the normal practice of presenting your name when entering a reception area; we knew this would be the key ingredient to proving her identity and matching this sprinter (and her shoes) to the subject in question.   Now all we had to do was beat the bus to the destination – and that is exactly what the investigator did – waiting for the subject with a covert camera in hand.  Oblivious to our ‘invisible’ investigator; as the subject arrived and gave her name, the receptionist wasn’t the only one recording it.

Technorati Tags: Investigations, Surveillance

As the summer haze continues, so does the exertion and in most organizations the volume escalates in terms of demand.  With the record breaking temperatures we are experiencing this year, we will no doubt see a much greater incentive (air conditioned or not) to be away from work.  It’s as accurate as any formula; as the temperature raises the motivation to produce for the organization declines, and quite often as an addendum the projects at the homestead amplify, whether it is in the category of a want, or a need.

This formula was put on trial recently in a case we investigated through surveillance involving a man nearing retirement at a manufacturing facility.  The individual had complained of the heat and that the workload was becoming too taxing on his almost 60 year old body, as a result the organization carried out the morally correct decision and allowed the individual a lighter load in terms of his required duties.  Although the organization offered what would be considered an ethically correct gesture to the man their return was less than equated; in fact the opportunist was quick to analyze their kindness for weakness and continued to push for progressively lighter duties as the weeks went on.  It got to the point where the individual just flat out told the HR department that he needed time off and regardless of the lessened duties they offered they were simply not enough to allow his tired body the rest it needed.  It was clear that his plan was working and soon he would have his wish of a workless summer.

Our investigations branch was contacted to look further into this matter as they could now articulate a more ‘drastic’ measure to combat this issue.  We were sent some images of this individual in his workplace attempting to complete his duties.  At first glance it was clear this individual was either an Oscar worthy actor or he was expeditiously in need of an ambulance.

We decided we would begin surveillance as he departed the facility on his last day of work before his self-inflicted vacation.  Like the famous prose “dance as though nobody is watching”; that is exactly what this individual did.  As he was walking out of the building dependent on his cane he pulled his greatest Keyser Soze impression as the ‘necessary’ cane was quickly hoisted over his shoulder and the only weight that laboured his leg was the skip in his step as he demonstrated his victory walk to his SUV.  We could now clearly see his true intention; the only thing to do now was gather further evidence of his drastic embellishment.  As surveillance continued on his drive home we noticed him stopping at the side of the road; it turns out a shelving unit had caught his eye.  He proceeded to lift the unit in the most un-ergonomically correct way possible as he held his keys in his mouth he maneuvered the newly found treasure deep into the back of his Rav 4.

The next day we continued the surveillance to maintain the continuity of this workplace investigation.  As the sun rose, so did our evidence; it turns out spring cleaning was on his list of things to.  He began to load up his truck with garbage from his garage.  As the surveillance continued we followed him to the dump as we witnessed him toss the tires as though he was throwing a discus in the Olympics, and yes with one hand.  It was clear that either he had found a fountain of youth in the city dump or the only part of him that was fatigued at work was his integrity.

Technorati Tags: Investigations, Workplace Investigations

Article by 20/20 Canadian Manufacturing & Exporters’ Magazine

A worker breaks his back roofing, gets hospitalized for three months, and is off work from his manufacturing job for a year. His neighbour, a long-time acquaintance, lets slip he is working under the table for cash, while at the same time receiving workplace injury benefits.

As his employer – who is obviously concerned about the overall productivity of your operations – what would you do?

Desmond Taljaard makes it his mission to provide companies with the answer. As vice president of corporate investigations and security services with AFI International, Taljaard oversees internal investigations into workers’ compensation issues. Much of his work involves investigating the validity of claims and working with employers to see if there is fraudulent activity or workplace injury fraud.

“I would define it as someone feigning an injury in order to gain benefit when they are not entitled to that benefit,” says Taljaard, who estimates there could be as much as $100 million spent each year investigating potentially fraudulent claims in Ontario.

And while many cases do turn out to be fabricated, Taljaard adds that a high percentage end up being legitimate claims. “Someone will be hit by a forklift. Someone will hurt their back.”

When an incident occurs, certain red flags start to jump out. For example, complaints of pain may not match the case, or colleagues may see a supposedly injured employee out and about. Investigations, however, have made even easier by a growing culture of connectedness and social media. Public profiles like Facebook are much less intrusive than surveillance.

“People freely post ‘broke 90 today on the links’ as their status update,” says Taljaard, a former policeman and detective. “Colleagues know each other better than human resources or employers in most cases, and they’re the ones who feel the pressure of a lost employee.”

And when these cases are caught, there are consequences.

Read more…

Technorati Tags: workplace injury fraud, workplace insurance fraud

It is general knowledge that the allotted vacation time in one’s work life is simply never enough; subjectively I don’t think anyone could or would argue this sentiment.  Even though in certain occupations the norm or the accumulation can potentially add up to the entire summer, there will always be an invite to a getaway wedding in February or otherwise and suddenly those several weeks are no longer enough.  This term is known as social adaptation and simply put; “the more we get, the more we want”.

Regardless of the season we are in, we are always going to face people who have made it their favourite for a variety of reasons; there may be several hunters who need some time in October, or perhaps the skiers in January.  The dilemma lies in those that don’t prioritize and choose to take it all, one way or another.  As we know; however, when the route of deceit is chosen there is always a price to pay; unfortunately the organization is often the victim writing the cheque.

We all live in a global village of transparency which definitely brings its advantages; we no longer have to count on a fellow employee with a guilty conscious or a suspecting neighbour.  Sometimes an individual’s reputation just can’t stay concealed and we can truly get an accurate sense of the big plan.  In a recent WSIB case, we concluded that this was the issue we were faced with:

A fairly new employee of a manufacturing organization had requested a week off; however, she had already exhausted all of her allotted holidays and as a result was denied the request.  In a bold move, the subject complained of an injury sustained in the workplace only weeks prior to the requested, yet denied, time.  She was well aware of the process and knew that modified duties would have to be offered initially.  She continued to play the game and gradually the modified duties became too much for the alleged injury; her plan was all falling together perfectly.  She then presented the employer with a doctor’s note stating that the work load was too much and time off would be needed.  This was now heading down the road of WSIB and essentially leading this new employee to an all inclusive summer vacation courtesy of the organization.  After some investigative research (news articles, club memberships) we found that the individual in question was a star beach volleyball player and in fact the week she had requested was the same week a US tournament was being held that would be of definite interest to her if she wasn’t injured; it was a chance we were willing to take.  When we received the green light from the organization (and the border) we were able to attend the said tournament that she was in fact participating in.  Although we weren’t the only camera in the stands, our pictures would certainly have a different meaning.

Technorati Tags: Investigative Research, WSIB

As a Gold Partner of the EAC and CME symposium on Workplace Safety, Health & Wellness – Claims Management, Fraud and Your Bottom Line: The Real Cost of Risk, AFI would like to invite and offer you a promo code to receive a discount.

Desmond Taljaard of AFI will also be in attendance and presenting Factors to Consider When Investigating Claims of Workplace Injuries

Please find further information here or contact aferguson@afi-international.com to have a brochure emailed to you.

To register simply click this link https://eac.cmemec.ca/mpower/event/loadevent.action?e=278 and enter promo code “afipromo” in small letters and you will receive the member price of $275 before June 1^st and $325 after June 1^st.

We look forward to seeing you there!

This is just a small example of the uphill battle employers face when dealing with injured workers and in Canada this issue continues to grow. This is yet another example of why surveillance is conducted so often in these cases and why an objective third party investigator is predominantly utilized; this type of issue becomes a substantial drain on an organization’s bottom line.

Workload and violence block injured workers from getting support
By National Union

Increased workloads are getting in the way of providing quality services, say the people who provide support to injured workers.

(20 April 2012) – Delegates at the recent Conference of Canadian Compensation Unions in Ottawa discussed how increased workloads are having a negative impact on the provision of quality services to injured workers.

Episodes of violence and bullying are another major problem. Threats of violence from the public, threats of suicide from injured workers and workplace bullying all exact a heavy toll on workers’ mental and physical well-being.

“Injured workers deserve better” says Sandra Wright, President of the Compensation Employees Union (CEU) in British Columbia, an affiliation of the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) through the B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union (BCGEU/NUPGE).

“Workers are struggling to provide quality services under immense workloads. It’s high time employers stepped up to the plate and seriously addressed workers workload concerns,” says Wright. Read more…

Technorati Tags: Workplace Injuries and Violence, Workplace Violence