Canadian Safety Reporter

6 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2017 CSR | December 2017 | News Worker fired after co-worker's abuse gets $13,000 in damages Employer thought it was solving workplace problems by terminating worker, but didn't investigate the root of the problems — workplace abuse and harassment BY JEFFREY R. SMITH AN ALBERTA agricultural co-op must pay a former short-term worker $13,000 in damages af- ter it fired her without properly investigating problems in the workplace caused by a co-work- er's abusive behaviour towards her, an adjudicator has ruled. High Prairie Seed Cleaning Co-op is a grain cleaning facil- ity in High Prairie, Alta., that prepares and upgrades seeds for the marketplace. The plant is overseen by a board of direc- tors meeting every two to three months, with a manager — Bry- ant Kushner — taking care of the day-to-day operations. The co-op hired Tammy Rob- erts in April 2015 to handle the plant's bookkeeping and clerical tasks. Along with Roberts and the manager, there were two other employees — plant opera- tor and lead hand Trevor Carri- er and a part-time worker in the feed processing facility. On Oct. 27, 2016, Roberts called Kushner at his home and said she was leaving the plant because Carrier was being "an a-----e to me and is abusive to me." Kusher told Carrier at work he wanted to meet with him to discuss the matter, but Carrier left early that day. That same day, someone arrived at the plant asking about a job because he had heard that Car- rier had quit. The next day, Carrier didn't show up to work and Kushner spoke to him. Car- rier said he hadn't quit but com- plained about various issues. On Oct. 31, Roberts came to work but went back home be- cause Carrier was there. Kush- ner then asked the board of directors to sort out the issues between the employees. It was the first the board had heard of any problems, so they inter- viewed Kushner, Roberts, and Carrier — the three full-time employees — separately. Kushner said he had been un- der pressure recently and had been living in a trailer on plant property and then in the plant's basement. He also said the em- ployee problems to which he had referred stemmed from Carrier playing pranks on Rob- erts. Kushner also denied he and Roberts were having an affair, though the board hadn't heard anything about that. Kushner asked the board to settle the matter as things had gone too far and the board should perhaps fire somebody. In Carrier's interview, he ad- mitted to the pranks on Roberts but said they got along well and laughed about them. However, he said Roberts was causing him stress and he was doing more work while Kushner harvested his own farm. Carrier said he was frustrated and was no lon- ger willing to work with either Kushner or Roberts. When the board interviewed Roberts, she said Carrier had been making it difficult to do her job. She admitted to jok- ing and horseplay with Carrier, leading to sometimes unpro- fessional and inappropriate conduct in front of customers or board members visiting the plant. She said they got along well and she was comfortable with their banter, as she felt like "one of the boys." She also felt the need to deny she was hav- ing an affair with Kushner, but she ultimately said she couldn't continue in her job with Carrier there because she "had a closer relationship to Bryant Kushner than should have been." Relationship between manager and worker too close After the interviews, the board of directors decided unanimously to terminate the employment of both Carrier and Roberts with- out cause. They felt both had given them an ultimatum that they each couldn't work with the other, so the board felt it best to dismiss both and start fresh with two new employees. The board kept Kushner on as he had been working for 40 years and was ex- periencing difficulty in his per- sonal life. The board met with Roberts on Nov. 5 to inform her of her termination, explaining it didn't think she was capable of work- ing with employees and she couldn't step back from her re- lationship with Kushner enough to have "an effective working relationship." Roberts was upset and disappointed, but didn't say much at the meeting. The co-op gave Roberts four weeks' sever- ance pay, based on its consulta- tion of Alberta labour standards legislation. Two days after her termina- tion, Roberts sent a text to one of the board members alleging Carrier had physically, verbally, Credit: Shutterstock/IrynaL Employer > pg. 7

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