Canadian Labour Reporter - sample

March 18, 2019

Canadian Labour Reporter is the trusted source of information for labour relations professionals. Published weekly, it features news, details on collective agreements and arbitration summaries to help you stay on top of the changing landscape.

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7 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2019 CANADIAN LABOUR REPORTER ARBITRATION AWARDS left the club shortly after but on the way out, he left a hand-written note on Ethier's desk that said: "I, Ryan Vandale, quit (signed) Ryan Vandale." Then around 10:47 a.m., Van- dale sent many texts to Ethier. One of the messages said: "I'm done. Find somebody else for Tuesday." The following day, a special board meeting was called to dis- cuss the previous night's events. On her way into the board meet- ing, Ethier found the note that Vandale had left. Ethier originally planned to ask the board to suspend Vandale, but after reading the note, the board unanimously decided to accept his resignation. On Oct. 15, Vandale sent a text to Ethier. "Good morning. Letting you know, I am at a loss for words, I have no recollection of Saturday. (I asked to not be served shooters, but apparently that didn't go over well) (I apologize for being the centre of controversy yet again) - Ryan." Ethier responded to Vandale and said the "note and text of you quitting was accepted as exactly that from the board and your ser- vices here are no longer unfortu- nately required." Vandale was also told his club membership was suspended and he was invited to a board meeting on Oct. 22 to discuss the member- ship. Vandale and a union repre- sentative attended but his request for rescindment was denied. On Oct. 26, Vandale and the union, Unite Here! Local 41, filed a grievance. The union argued that because the bartender on duty allowed Vandale to consume too much alcohol that night, the club bore some responsibility for his actions. The resignation that evening was insincere due to Vandale be- ing impaired, said the union. The employer countered and said that Vandale had a spotty re- cord that included 15 incidents during his eight years of employ- ment, so it decided to accept the resignation immediately. Arbitrator Neil Robertson agreed and dismissed the griev- ance. "On balance, I am satisfied that the employer has established that the resignation was voluntary and valid. The fact that the resignation was communicated in writing twice and the delay in retracting the resignation support the con- clusion that (Vandale) had a clear and continuing intent to resign. While he later regretted the deci- sion, the employer was entitled to take it at face value and did accept the resignation, ending the em- ployment relationship." By waiting an extra day, it showed Vandale was not overly worried about the ramifications of his text and handwritten notes, said Robertson. "Although (Vandale) testified that he did not remember much of the events of the Saturday even- ing, he clearly knew on Sunday that he had texted his resignation to the club manager. If (Vandale) had not intended to resign, one would expect he would have taken the earliest opportunity to tell that to Ethier. Yet he took no action until Monday morning, at which time he texted an apology for his behaviour on Saturday night. Even then, there was no mention of the resignation, much less any retraction or repudiation of the resignation." Reference: Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans Club #38 and Unite Here! Local 41. Neil Robertson — arbitrator. Gail Ethier for the employer. Garry Whalen for the employee. Feb. 7, 2019. Coughlan's own medical issues. In May 2015, Coughlan was ready to return to work but only in a part-time capacity. In August, she was transferred into a series of 0.5 FTE (full-time equivalent) positions. Meanwhile, Coughlan re- quested her name be placed onto the succession list for the School Resource Officer (SRO) unit. She was placed onto the list and once a position became available, Coughlan was eligible to join. At the time, Edmonton had 26 SRO constables who were respon- sible for 31 local schools. SROs established a visible presence in the schools on an outreach basis to prevent youth-related crimes. In October, Coughlan was on the list with a normal expiration date of one year later. In Novem- ber, she was advised that three full-time vacancies would be available in January 2016. However, Coughlan wasn't ready for full-time work. On May 18, 2016, Edmonton Police Association (EPA) presi- dent Maurice Brodeur said that Coughlan would be ready for part-time work in the fall. The EPS responded that there were no part-time positions in the SRO unit, but it would accommo- date Coughlan in another unit. The association filed a griev- ance on May 30 and alleged that the EPS failed to accommodate Coughlan's family-status needs. Coughlan said she was only able to work on Wednesdays, Thurs- days and half-days on Fridays, due to her needing to care for her children. Their father (who shared custody with Coughlan) looked after them the other days. In July, another FTE was of- fered to Coughlan in the SRO unit, but she declined it. After more positions became available, Coughlan asked Denis Jubinville, HR division superintendent, why there were no part-time SRO pos- itions. "Upon review, it appears the matter in question relates to the determination by Investigative Support Branch that the SRO positions are not available on a part-time basis," said Jubinville in a Sept. 12 email response. After a back-and-forth Jubin- ville responded: "The Investiga- tive Support Branch has deter- mined that the SRO positions, for bona fide operational reasons, cannot be accommodated on a part-time basis." The SRO unit officers must be dedicated to the position on a full- time basis, testified Sgt. Em Chan, due to potential communication problems if more than one officer was assigned to a school and it would be best for the at-risk youth to have one officer per school. Coughlan's inclusion on the succession list was extended for another year until Sept. 30, 2016, while the EPS promised to find a suitable part-time position for her. Arbitrator D.P. Jones dismissed the grievance. "I am satisfied on the evidence that the SRO pos- ition needs to be done by a full- time person, even where that per- son is responsible for two schools, in order to meet the need for availability, continuity and fluid- ity. These bona fide requirements could not be met by a stand-alone part-time position where the SRO was only available on Mondays, Tuesdays and alternate Fridays. The intermittent and fixed nature of her schedule would not provide a school (even a school sharing half of a full-time SRO who cov- ered two schools) with the neces- sary availability, continuity and fluidity." The employer did not dis- criminate against Coughlan due to her family status, said Jones. "Accordingly, even if prima fa- cie discrimination on the basis of family status had been estab- lished, in my judgment the EPS has established the need for SRO positions to be done full-time, and that it would have been an undue hardship for the EPS to accommo- date Const. Coughlan's request to work as a part-time SRO on Mondays, Tuesdays and alternate Fridays." Reference: Edmonton Police Service and Edmonton Police Association. D.P. Jones — arbitrator. Geoff Hope, Dana Adams for the employer. Dan Scott for the employee. Feb. 4, 2019. 2019 CarswellAlta 250 Bona fide requirement for full-time school officers: EPS < Transfer denied pg. 1 < Drunkenly quits pg. 1 Club partially responsible for employee actions: Unite! Here

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