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Emplo
y
ment Law Today
Canad ad a ian
www.employmentlawtoday.com
August 15, 2018
Angry worker quit after not getting his way;
no reprisal by employer for ending employment
Company refused worker's demand to work overtime
for more money and to do less work, so worker walked away
BY JEFFREY R. SMITH
AN ONTARIO worker who demanded
to be paid overtime rather than work fl ex
hours to get certain things done quit his job
of his own accord and wasn't terminated as
a reprisal for demanding rights under em-
ployment standards legislation, the Ontario
Labour Relations Board has ruled.
Carl Krulikoski worked as a mechanic for
Let's Landscape Together, a residential and
commercial landscaping company in Burl-
ington, Ont. At times he was known by co-
workers to be short-tempered and not easy
to talk to in the mornings, but no serious is-
sues came of it and he was considered a good
mechanic by company management.
On July 6, 2017, Krulikoski came into the
company's offi ce and spoke with the esti-
mator, who sometimes worked with him
on issues regarding safety and operation of
the company's trucks. According to the esti-
mator, Krulikoski told her he was frustrated
with the company and the work he was doing
and he was going to start looking for other
work that very day.
Later that same day, a vehicle that was
Being busy not excuse to delay patient
referrals, disrespectful behaviour
Hospital clinic secretary's pattern of disrespectful conduct
and failure to process priority referrals provided just cause for dismissal
BY JEFFREY R. SMITH
AN ARBITRATOR has upheld the dis-
missal of an Ontario hospital worker who
displayed a pattern of unprofessional and
insubordinate behaviour along with a seri-
ous incident involving patient referrals.
Debbie Langford was hired in July 2011 by
the Kingston General Hospital in Kingston,
Ont., which later became known as Kings-
ton Health Sciences. She initially worked in
various part-time positions until October
2013, when she applied for and was appoint-
ed to a full-time position as a clinical secre-
tary for the hospital's heart rhythm services
(arrhythmia) clinic — a specialized clinic for
patients with heart issues who need treat-
ment or management of their conditions.
e group of doctors in the clinic had an
agreement with the hospital in which the lat-
ter provided them with administrative sup-
port and other services. As a result, Langford
Firing was business decision,
not discrimination pg. 3
Employer properly handled harassment
incident; decided to dismiss worker
after learning she planned to quit
The ever-increasing liability of
mischaracterizing employees
as contractors pg. 4
Legislative changes, case law
are lowering the boom
WORKER on page 8 »
EMPLOYEE
on page 11 »
CREDIT:
S_PHOTO/SHUTTERSTOCK
with Tim Mitchell
Ask the Expert pg. 2
Changing
vacation entitlement
