Providing false information about employment references – Founded

Authority:

This investigation was conducted under section 69 of the Public Service Employment Act, S.C. 2003, c. 22, ss. 12 and 13.

Issue:

The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether a candidate committed fraud by providing false information about their employment references in an appointment process.

Conclusion:

The investigation concluded that the candidate committed fraud by knowingly providing false information about their employment references to increase their chances of succeeding in the appointment process and of being appointed.

Facts:

A candidate applied to an external advertised appointment process. After an exam and an interview, the assessment board asked the candidate for references from their current manager and a previous manager. The candidate provided contact information for both. The assessment board emailed reference check questionnaires to the 2 email addresses provided by the candidate. When the assessment board reviewed the completed questionnaires, it noted irregularities that raised concerns about the references’ authenticity. Specifically, both referees’ email addresses seemed to be personal accounts, rather than work ones. The candidate’s name was also linked to the email account of one referee.

Given these irregularities, the assessment board asked the candidate to provide work email addresses for both referees. The candidate shared the work email address for one but stated that they could not do so for the other because they had moved on to other employment. Instead, the candidate provided the contact information for a third referee.

The assessment board emailed a copy of the reference check questionnaire to the 2 additional email addresses, including the work email address of the previous referee, and received completed copies. The completed questionnaires received from the same referee’s personal and work email addresses had significant differences, such as their evaluation of the candidate’s work and the time they had supervised the candidate.

During the investigation, the candidate admitted that they had created 2 email addresses to impersonate and act as their own references. The evidence also showed that the candidate completed 2 reference check questionnaires and submitted them to the assessment board, hoping to qualify in the appointment process and obtain employment. For these reasons, on the balance of probabilities, the candidate committed fraud when they knowingly provided false information about their employment references.

Corrective actions:

Following the conclusion of fraud in the appointment process, the Commission ordered that:

• for 2 years, the individual must notify the Public Service Commission of Canada before accepting any position or work in the federal public service
  • failure to do so will result in the revocation of their appointment
• if the individual accepts a position or work in the federal public service within 2 years, they must complete the Values and Ethics Foundations for Employees course offered by the Canada School of Public Service, and then have a discussion with their director
  • failure to do so will result in the revocation of their appointment

Investigation File No.: 21-22-09