Canadian Employment Law Today - sample

4 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2018 CASE IN POINT: JUST CAUSE TRUST IS ESSENTIAL for those who are charged with securing the incarceration of criminal elements. A corrections officer who violates that trust can't be expected to meet the high standard of conduct required in such an occupation, as the Federal Public Sector and Labour Relations and Employment Board stressed in upholding the termination of an Alberta-based corrections officer. BACKGROUND CSC officer fired for criminal associations, using cocaine Corrections officer suspended, then fired for violating code of conduct and then denying it despite the evidence BY JEFFREY R. SMITH T ejinder Braich was hired by Cor- rections Canada (CSC) in 2012 to be a correctional officer at Bowden Institution near Calgary. On his first day of work at the institution, he met with a special investigation officer (SIO) and gave the officer a letter disclos - ing that he had high school friends from his hometown of Abbottsford, B.C., who had been convicted of crimes and were "going through the criminal justice system." e of - ficer told him it wouldn't be a problem. On two other occasions, Braich again contacted the SIO to inform him that he had seen an inmate who was connected to his father — who recognized Braich — and another inmate who knew his cousin and also recognized him. Braich asked if he needed paperwork on these disclosures, but according to Braich the officer didn't seem concerned. Braich also claimed he informed the SIO that some of his school friends in Abbottsford were members of a notoriously violent criminal gang, but he had no relationship with them while he worked as a correctional officer. Hanging out with gang members On Feb. 12, 2014, Abbottsford police en- tered a local bar as part of rounds they con- ducted at bars known to be popular with criminal gang members. A police officer recognized known gang members at a table and Braich was sitting with them. e offi - cer asked Braich to identify himself and as Braich opened his wallet to pull out identi- fication, the officer noticed his CSC badge displayed prominently in a clear window of the wallet. e officer felt Braich was delib- erately showing him the badge and Braich indicated that he was a corrections officer. e officer took Braich aside and said he was disappointed to find a corrections of - ficer seated with criminal gang members. He checked Braich's background with a dispatcher and when no criminal record was found, he told him he wasn't required to leave. However, as was their practice, the police told the gang members to leave the bar and escorted them out. Braich left the bar and got into a taxi, followed by the gang members who had been ejected from the bar. ey took the taxi to another bar, where the gang mem - bers got out. Braich stayed in the taxi and went home. A few months later, on June 5, Braich and some co-workers went to the apartment of a CSC colleague following a golf tourna - ment. Braich had been drinking all day and was intoxicated, though the gathering itself was quiet with only about six people there. Braich mentioned to a couple of colleagues that he had been worried about his connec - tion to criminal gangs and what he should do if any members arrived at Bowden. He then went into the bathroom and two col- leagues saw him emerge with white powder stuck on one of his nostrils. One colleague went into the bathroom and observed a "dusting of a white powder" on the vanity counter, which she assumed was cocaine. e next day, Braich apologized to his colleague and explained it was the first time he had done that. e colleague thought he was referring to doing cocaine at a gather - ing of work colleagues, but Braich later said he was apologizing for being so intoxicated. Soon after, the co-worker who lived at the apartment and had also seen the white pow - der confronted him about using cocaine and making a mess in her home. Braich asked her not to tell anyone, but the co-worker told an SIO about it. CSC also learned of the incident in the Abbottsford bar, and its intelligence stated that all three of the gang members seated with Braich had connections to a violent gang war involving execution-style killings as well as inmates in federal institutions. CSC conducted an investigation and in - terviewed Braich about his using cocaine, the night at the Abbottsford bar, and his connections with criminal organizations. Braich said he and his brother had arrived at the bar and heard someone call his name. It turned out to be someone he had went to school with but had no relationship since. e former schoolmate was a gang member, and Braich was talking to him and catching up when the police arrived. He agreed he had identified himself as a corrections of - ficer and said he had told the police he had run into old school friends and one of them had asked for help going straight from his life of crime — something he felt he had a duty to do as a corrections officer and peace officer. Braich also claimed he didn't know that his school friend and his companions were convicted criminals with gang affiliations, though he knew his friend had a history of incarceration through news reports. He said he only had a brief conversation with the men at the table and left the bar after a few minutes. When asked about the party, Braich de - nied using cocaine and said he didn't re- member much because he was so intoxi- cated. He said he had gone to the bathroom to vomit, but his colleagues didn't report hearing or smelling it but they did see the white powder. Trust and reputation damaged e investigation determined Braich had used cocaine while off duty, had "continued criminal organization associations," and had used a CSC badge for non-official purposes. As a result, Braich was suspended. In September 2014, Bowden Institution's warden returned after a three-month leave. When he saw Braich was suspended, he looked into the investigation findings and determined he had violated the CSC's code of discipline by discrediting it, showing disrespect for the law, violating employer trust, and failing to comply with a legisla - tive directive and public service values. He terminated Braich's employment for break- ing the bond of trust required of correc- tional officers. Braich grieved the termination, arguing there was insufficient evidence to support cause for dismissal. He also said it was unfair for CSC to do nothing after the

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