Canadian Employment Law Today

PM40065782 Emplo y ment Law Today Canad ad a ian www.employmentlawtoday.com June 24, 2015 Employer's threat to recover damage cost from worker doesn't work Note threatening to deduct expenses changed employment contract and constructively dismissed worker: Court BY JEFFREY R. SMITH A BRITISH COLUMBIA worker was con- structively dismissed when his employer told him following a few incidents of equipment damage that it would be charging him for the cost of any additional damage that was his fault, the B.C. Supreme Court has ruled. Ralph Rothberger was a heavy equipment operator for Concord Excavating and Contracting in Surrey, B.C., hired in 2001. He primarily worked as a seasonal excavator operator, working from early spring to late fall. During the busy season, he often worked more than eight hours a day and 40 hours a week but received no overtime pay. During the off -season, Rothberger didn't work and relied on Employment Insurance payments for income. Supreme Court of Canada weighs in on constructive dismissal pg. 3 Paid suspension can lead to constructive dismissal with Colin Gibson CREDIT: IOKS/SHUTTERSTOCK Parking lot attendant fi red for shady cash transactions pg. 4 Customer report of worker accepting cash under the table confi rmed employer's suspicions from previous incidents WORKER on page 6 » ASK AN EXPERT pg. 2 Liability for discrimination by recruitment agency Altercation with student spells end of job for school board worker THE ONTARIO Labour Relations Board has upheld the fi ring of a school board em- ployee who was involved in an obscenity- laced altercation with a student who was bullying her daughter. Sylvia Hatzantonis was hired by the To- ronto District School Board (TDSB) in Feb- ruary 2003 as a site clerical with the board's English and French language training for adult immigrants. On Sept. 25, 2012, Hatzantonis picked up her 13-year-old daughter from her school. When she arrived, she found her daughter crying after an altercation with a 14-year-old male student. Hatzantonis learned that the student had been bullying her daughter. Hatzantonis confronted the student, de- manded he apologize to her daughter and made several inappropriate comments. Soon after, the TDSB was given a video of the incident that had been recorded by another student who had watched it unfold. e video showed Hatzantonis shouting at the student, swearing repeatedly, calling him vulgar names, saying he was lucky she was on school board property, threatening to tell his parents he smoked drugs and had sex with another male student behind the school, telling the student she worked for the TDSB and could fi nd out anything she want- ed about him, and shouting after the student and calling his mother a vulgar name. e TDSB placed Hatzantonis on home assignment while it investigated. Police also learned of the incident and charged Hatzan- tonis with uttering death threats, intimida- tion, assault, and causing a disturbance. Hatzantonis completed two anger man- agement courses and paid a fi ne, after which the charges were withdrawn and she agreed to a peace bond. e TDSB's investigation found Hat- zantonis guilty of conduct contrary to its operational procedure dealing with abuse and neglect of students, which stated it was "unacceptable for an employee to insult, de- VIDEO on page 7 »

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