Canadian Employment Law Today

PM41261516 Employer's assumption leads to discrimination against worker with disability PG.4 Newfoundland and Labrador company didn't give worker on medical leave opportunity to change mind on modified duties THE ONTARIO Superior Court of Justice has found that a long-term employee's misconduct did not justify dismissal for cause without notice and that the employee is entitled to 19 months' common law reasonable notice. In Czerniawski v. Corma Inc., a 54-year-old assem- bler for Corma — a manufacturer of corrugated plas- tic pipe equipment and products in Concord, Ont. — with 19 years of service without any performance issues, got into a dispute with a co-worker over work distribution. The incident involved raised voices but no physical contact. The employee was asked to leave the workplace several times, but he did not. After ask - ing what he was accused of, the employee was told only that there would be an investigation. The po- lice were called and escorted the employee from the premises. Corma and the police told the employee not to return until advised to do so. However, four days later, having heard nothing from the employer, the employee went to the reception area to deliver a letter with his side of the story for the investiga - tion, as Corma did not interview him. Following A NOVA Scotia call centre worker's past harassment and her unhappiness didn't mitigate the seriousness of her disrespect of a client on a call, according to an adjudicator who upheld her dismissal. The worker was hired by the Canadian Im - perial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) in July 2010 to be a financial representative at the bank's telephone banking centre in Halifax. Just less than three years later, she was appointed to the position of team leader, which involved devel - oping and coaching employees at the call centre and providing customers with good sales and service experience. She was responsible for con- verting contacts into new sales, maintaining good service levels, reaching her team's perfor- mance targets and meeting quality assurance May 5, 2021 Ontario Human Rights Tribunal upholds legal release, dismisses complaint PG.3 No evidence worker was under duress or didn't have opportunity to seek legal advice before signing document releasing employer of liability TEAM LEADERS on page 6 » CREDIT: PEOPLEIMAGES iSTOCK EMPLOYEE on page 7 » with Stuart Rudner Ontario employee's refusal to leave work, stay home not just cause Worker returned to company premises after employer's warning to stay home, but there was poor communication Ask an Expert PG. 2 Returning employees from layoff with reduced pay CIBC call centre worker disconnected Nova Scotia worker's bad behaviour on client call and previous breach of confidentiality provided just cause for dismissal BY RHONDA LEVY AND GEORGE VASSOS BY JEFFREY R. SMITH CELT_Issue_30 MAY 5 FINAL.indd 1 CELT_Issue_30 MAY 5 FINAL.indd 1 4/21/2021 4:04:02 AM 4/21/2021 4:04:02 AM

• Cover