We are about to talk about rules of dismissal and discharge in unionized environments in my summer course. So I am reviving my Arbitration Cases series in which I summarize in case study format recently released arbitration awards.
Last week, Arbitrator Stout released his award in a discharge case involving Women’s College Hospital and SEIU, Local 1.
Key Facts:
The Grievor (GR) was 51 years old and had 29 years’ seniority. Her job involved booking clinic appointments. She had difficulty adapting to a new management system introduced in 2009, and soon began falling behind on appointment bookings and reporting late to work. Nurses began to complain about slow booking times. In December 2009, the GR was given a warning letter setting out how she was required to improve. The GR came under closer scrutiny after that. In early January 2010, the GR told her supervisor that all appointments had been properly booked when in fact two had not. On Jan. 10, the GR was given a formal Verbal Warning, addressing the lateness issue, poor work performance, and dishonesty in regards to the two bookings that had not been made. In late July 2010, the GR left for a vacation leaving some 33 unbooked appointments. She did not advise the ER until August 10th, when she emailed to advise about the unscheduled appointments. The GR claimed she had computer problems on her last day of work and was unable to get the bookings done. She claimed she intended to come in the morning of her flight to complete the work, but she had a headache and was unable to come to work. When the GR returned from holiday she was dismissed for breach of confidentiality, neglect of duties, and breach of trust.
The Issue
Did the Employer have just cause to dismiss the Grievor?
The Decision
The Employer emphasized the Grievor’s dishonesty in covering up unbooked appointments and leaving on vacation without telling the ER about a backlog of appointments. According to the Employer, “The dishonesty was intentional and repetitive, including the falsification of records.” The Union conceded that some discipline was warranted, but argued that discharge was too extreme in all of the circumstances.
Arbitrator Stout sided with the Union and reinstated the Grievor with what amounted to about an 8 month unpaid suspension without loss of seniority.
According to the Arbitrator, while dishonesty and poor work performance are serious,
not all acts of dishonesty give rise to a break down in the employment relationship. Each case of dishonesty must be examined in context, weighing both aggravating and mitigating factors to determine if just cause exists and if discretion ought to be exercised to substitute a lesser penalty for discharge
In this case, the misconduct was “not an act of hardened criminality devised for financial gain”. Rather, the GR was dishonest because she was trying to avoid embarrassment and further discipline. The Employer suffered no loss. The Grievor acknowledged her wrongs, apologized, and expressed regret. Given her very long service record, and the fact the Arbitrator believed the GR had learned her lesson, reinstatement was appropriate:
I believe the grievor has learned a very hard lesson and a time served suspension will deter any similar behavior in the future. I am also satisfied that the trust between the grievor and Hospital can be restored. The grievor should now fully appreciate that any further dishonest conduct will surely result in discharge and no arbitrator would be inclined to provide any further chance at redemption.
Conclusions and Questions
1. Do you agree with this outcome?
2. How important do you think it was for the Arbitrator that the employee admitted her mistake and apologized at the hearing?
3. If this was a nonunion employer, the ER would have been entitled to dismiss the EE. The only question would have been whether he dishonesty and misconduct was sufficient to amount to cause for Summary Dismissal (dismissal without notice). The employee would not be reinstated into a nonunion setting, even if it was determined that the employer did not have cause for summary dismissal.
Which model do you think strikes a fairer balance between the interests of the employer and the employee?
