PM41261516
Emplo
y
ment Law Today
Canadian
www.employmentlawtoday.com
Ontario worker overzealous in harassment
complaint, work refusal pg. 4
Accidental physical conduct by and brief
encounter with supervisor not proof worker
faced dangerous condition in the workplace
Ontario worker on sick leave with no
return date wrongfully dismissed
Employer wanted more medical information and co-operation
BY JEFFREY R. SMITH
AN ONTARIO employer should have made more
of an effort to engage with a worker on sick leave
who rejected return-to-work options and didn't
provide additional medical information before he
was terminated, the Ontario Superior Court of Jus-
tice has ruled.
Vimay Nagpal began working for IBM in the
United Kingdom in 1988. In 1989, Nagpal moved
to Canada and transferred to IBM Canada, reach-
ing senior management status several years later.
In 2011, Nagpal successfully applied for a lead-
ership position overseeing two new software
projects. He started in the new position in Janu-
ary 2012, but soon had difficulties with the team,
which he believed was due mainly to one particu-
larly challenging employee. Nagpal tried to get
support from his supervisor in dealing with the
problem employee, but he didn't feel that his su-
pervisor had his back. He explained that these dif-
ficulties were causing him stress and mental health
issues, but the supervisor didn't follow up.
One year into his stint in the position — in Janu-
ary 2013 — Nagpal's supervisor gave him a poor
performance evaluation. On March 14, 2013, Nag-
pal called in sick due to stress. He remained off
work for a few days and, on March 19, Nagpal told
IBM that his doctor had recommended he take six
weeks off.
Worker reinstated
after post-jury duty firing
Worker's failure to keep employer informed of jury duty dates
during trial stemmed from stress, not dishonest intentions: arbitrator
BY JEFFREY R. SMITH
AN ONTARIO worker who breached his
employer's rules on reporting in during jury
duty deserved serious discipline but not dis-
missal, as his misconduct was caused more
by mental health issues than fraudulent in-
tent, an arbitrator has ruled.
e worker was employed as a caseworker
in the Toronto Employment and Social Ser-
vices Division with 24 years of service and no
discipline on his record. In February 2014,
the worker was selected to serve on the jury
of a high-profile murder trial and it was ex-
pected to take several months.
e collective agreement between the
worker's union and the city required the city
to give employees a paid leave of absence
while they were on jury duty. Employees
October 9, 2019
Dismissal a damaging blow to
articling student pg. 3
Vancouver law firm ordered to pay
$50,000 in aggravated damages for
abrupt and bad-faith dismissal
WORKER NOT on page 6 »
CREDIT:
JASONDOIY/iSTOCK
EMPLOYEE on page 7 »
with Colin Gibson
Ask the Expert pg. 2
Micromanagement: Can it be
bullying and harassment?
