False information about education credentials

This investigation demonstrates the importance of providing accurate and truthful information about educational qualifications in applications. Providing false or misleading information, even when meeting the required education qualification, can compromise the integrity of the staffing system and lead to serious consequences.

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

Issue
This investigation aimed to determine if a candidate committed fraud in an external advertised appointment process by providing false information about their education in their application.

Conclusion
The investigation concluded that the candidate committed fraud in an appointment process by knowingly submitting false information about their education.

Facts
In an external appointment process, the essential education requirement was a secondary school diploma or an acceptable combination of education, training and/or experience. In their application, the candidate stated that they had obtained degrees from a college and a foreign university. The candidate was successful in the appointment process and was appointed to a position for a determinate period.

After the candidate’s appointment, the hiring department learned about another version of the candidate’s résumé. In this résumé, the information about their education was different from the information included in the résumé submitted for the appointment process.

The candidate was asked on multiple occasions to submit copies of their diplomas and transcripts but refused to provide the requested documents. The Public Service Commission of Canada’s Investigations Directorate reached out to the college and the university listed in the application. It obtained confirmation that the candidate did not complete the referenced academic program at the college and was never enrolled at the university. The Investigations Directorate also obtained confirmation that the candidate had a secondary school diploma.

The significant discrepancies about education credentials between the candidate’s application and the other version of their résumé reasonably suggested that these inconsistencies were intentional and the actions were dishonest.

Although the position in question did not require higher education credentials, the appointment process would have been compromised if the candidate had been appointed based on false information about their education in their application. As a result, the investigation concluded that the candidate knew their actions could have compromised the appointment process.

Corrective actions
Following the findings of fraud, the Commission ordered the following:

• elimination of the person’s candidacy from the appointment process
• for a period of two years, the person must notify the Public Service Commission of Canada before accepting any position or employment in the federal public service
• failure to do so will result in the revocation of the appointment
• if the person joins the federal public service within the two-year period, they must complete the course Values and Ethics Foundations for Employees offered by the Canada School of Public Service, and then have a discussion with their manager
• failure to comply will result in the revocation of the appointment
• the person must correct their candidate profile in the Public Service Resourcing System, where the irregularities raised in this investigation appear

Because the person was no longer employed in the public service, a revocation was not ordered.

File number: 25-26-08