Candidate misrepresenting themselves as a reference in an appointment process – 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 if fraud occurred in an external advertised appointment process. It was alleged that a candidate may have provided false information about their references during the appointment process.
Conclusion:
The investigation concluded that the candidate committed fraud when they misrepresented themselves by exchanging information with the hiring organization and creating and submitting a personal reference in the name of their referee.
Facts:
A public servant applied to an external advertised appointment process and was placed in a pool of partially qualified candidates pending receipt of references.
The allegation received suggested that the candidate may have provided information in the name of their reference during the appointment process. The candidate had provided an email address for one reference. The organization sent a reference questionnaire to the referee at a personal email address provided and received some information in response. The organization then used a work email address to contact the referee for more information and clarification. In response, the real referee stated that they had not been contacted and had not provided a reference on behalf of the candidate during the appointment process.
During the investigation, the candidate admitted that they had misrepresented themselves by posing as their referee while exchanging information with the organization, and that they had created and submitted a reference on their own behalf. They explained that they had done so to leave an unsatisfactory employment situation.
The evidence demonstrated that the candidate had committed fraud in an external advertised appointment process when they misrepresented themselves, in the name of their referee, exchanged information with the organization and created and submitted a reference on their own behalf, without the real referee’s knowledge.
Corrective actions:
Following the conclusion of fraud, the Commission ordered that:
- the candidate be eliminated from the appointment process
- for a period of 2 years, the public servant must notify the Public Service Commission of Canada before accepting any position or work within the federal public service
- failure to do so will result in the revocation of their appointment
- the public servant 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 complete the course or to participate in the discussion will result in the revocation of their appointment
- a copy of the investigation report and the record of decision be sent to the public servant’s deputy head
Investigation File No.: 21-22-10