PM41261516
A COVID boost to reasonable
notice? PG.4
Courts have started to evaluate
whether the pandemic should
be factored into dismissed
employees' notice entitlement
AN ONTARIO hospital that suspended a worker
for assaulting another employee could not then
decide to transfer the worker to keep him apart
from the victim, the Ontario Superior Court of
Justice has ruled.
The worker was a full-time plumber in the facili-
ties department at the Queensway Health Centre,
a hospital operated by Trillium Health Partners
along with two other hospitals in Mississauga,
Ont. He also filled in for emergencies, vacation
and overtime for other maintenance workers at
one of the other hospitals.
On July 29, 2019, the worker was performing his
regular duties at the Queensway Health Centre. He
encountered a female supervisor in the medical
device reprocessing department and, without any
provocation or consent, slapped the supervisor on
her right buttock. The supervisor walked away and
a soon a bruise developed on the spot where the
worker slapped her.
The medical device supervisor reported the in-
cident two days later, saying that she felt "humili-
ated, embarrassed, and violated." Trillium inves-
A NEW Brunswick credit union that fired a
worker that it believed revealed too much
about a member's account didn't have just
cause for dismissal without direct evidence
of the misconduct, the New Brunswick Court
of Queen's Bench has ruled.
Jason Jones, 44, worked as a financial
services officer for Bayview Credit Union,
a credit union that operates in New Bruns-
wick. Hired in March 2016 to work in a
branch in Saint John, N.B. — he had nine
years of previous experience in the banking
industry — he agreed to a confidentiality
agreement that prohibited him from dis-
closing any confidential information related
to Bayview's operations to anyone or using
such information for the benefit of himself
April 21, 2021
Advanced age helps, lack of mitigation
hurts notice entitlement PG.3
65-year-old B.C. worker entitled to 18
months reasonable notice, but
awarded 16 months' pay due to lack of
mitigation, remaining notice period
EMPLOYEE SAID on page 6 »
CREDIT:
FG
TRADE
iSTOCK
ASSAULT VICTIM on page 7 »
with Amy Gibson
Transfer after suspension
causes double jeopardy
Transferring Ontario worker to different location with different
shift times was double punishment for workplace assault: court
Ask an Expert PG. 2
Harassment complaints
by third parties
New Brunswick credit union worker
wrongfully dismissed for dishonesty
Employer accused worker of revealing information
from member's account, but worker's denial was credible to court
BY JEFFREY R. SMITH
BY JEFFREY R. SMITH