Canadian Labour Reporter - sample

7 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2017 CANADIAN LABOUR REPORTER NEWS was broken and it contained bleach. The bleach splashed onto his clothes and just missed his eyes. Johnson filed an incident report — saying three custodians about whom he had complained about before did it — but the matter wasn't pursued. A short time later, the city moved the custodians to differ- ent locations and wage harmoni- zation was implemented. Johnson's hours and rate of pay were reduced — his pay went from $17.18 per hour to $11.44 per hour — as it was determined many employees, including Johnson, were being overpaid and not paid according to their wage code. Johnson felt the reductions were retaliation for his discrimination and harassment allegations. In addition, he had applied for other positions and was denied, which Johnson also felt was retaliation. In September 2012, Johnson requested bereavement leave to attend his aunt's funeral in Chicago, but the request was denied because the collective agreement didn't cover paid bereavement leave for aunts. His supervisor also called him a disgruntled employee when he failed to make sufficient efforts to take first aid training. Worker reprimanded A month later, a supervisor saw Johnson in uniform talking to a youth at the centre's front desk, telling the youth to do the right thing and stay in school. The supervisor told him that staff don't typically counsel youth while on duty if they aren't a social worker or counsellor. Soon after, the supervisor emailed Johnson to remind him he wasn't supposed to offer "life counselling or advice while wearing a city uniform" as it could give the wrong impression to the public. Soon after, Johnson learned that one of the custodians who he had complained about was going to be transferred back to the recreation centre. Johnson went on an unpaid leave of absence in November 2012 and didn't return. Johnson's union, the Cana- dian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), filed a complaint claim- ing the city failed to provide a workplace free of harassment and discrimination and intimidation. No evidence of harassment Arbitrator David Starkman found there was no evidence the broken bleach bottle incident involved the custodians or that it was the result of an attempt to harass or intimidate Johnson. There was also no evidence the reductions in pay and hours were related to Johnson's complaints, as it was a city initiative to har- monize wages that affected many employees, not just Johnson. The reductions were made for business reasons and not in- tended to harass or discriminate against Johnson, said Starkman. Starkman also found John- son's reprimand for talking to the youth stemmed from policy and the supervisor was acting "within the prerogatives of a manager." The denial of paid bereave- ment leave for Johnson's aunt's funeral was also in line with the collective agreement, which ap- plied equally to all City of Toron- to employees. Johnson was still permitted to take unpaid leave and if he felt wronged he could have grieved at the time, said Starkman. The other instances also lacked evidence of discrimina- tion and harassment, as a com- ment calling Johnson a disgrun- tled employee wasn't uncalled for in the context of the situation and Johnson wasn't qualified to be considered a suitable candidate for some of the jobs he applied. Starkman determined Johnson was not a victim of harassment or discrimination and dismissed CUPE's grievance. "I appreciate from the evidence of (Johnson) that he believes that he has been harassed and discriminated against in the workplace by management and co- workers, and that the employer has not taken steps to maintain a harassment- and discrimination-free workplace," said Starkman. "From my review, however, and on an objective basis, the evidence is insufficient to establish the allegations set forth in the grievance." For more information see: • Toronto (City) and CUPE, Local 79 (Johnson), Re, 2016 CarswellOnt 20159 (Ont. Arb.). < Toronto pg. 1 Employer changed pay rates for business reasons: Arbitrator Photo: Aqnus Febriyant (Shutterstock) "I appreciate from the evidence that he believes that he has been harassed and discriminated against in the workplace by management."

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