HomeMy WebLinkAbout1993-2039.Garrie.95-04-12
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180 DUNDAS STREET WEST, SUITE 2100, TORONTO ON M5G 1Z8 TELERHONEITELEPHONE (416) 326- 388
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APPEAL BOARDS
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GSB# ~O39/93
OPSEU# 93F979
IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION
Under
,~
THE CROWN EMPLOYEES COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ACT
Before
THE GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT BOARD
BETWEEN
OPSEU (Garrie)
Grievor
- and -
The Crown in Right of ontario'
(Ministry of Correctional services)
Employer
BEFORE H. Finley vice-Chairperson
E Seymour Member
D. Montrose Member
,
FOR THE M. Bevan
GRIEVOR Grievance Officer
ontario Public Service Employees Union
FOR THE A. Gulbinski
EMPLOYER senior Grievance Administration Officer
Ministry of the Solicitor General &
Correctional services
HEARING October 5, 1994 I
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GSB 2039/93
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I DEe I S 10 N
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Mr. John Garrie, who was previously ~mployed as an
unclassified Correctional Officer at the Windsor Jail, grieved on
November 25, 1993, that he was "unjustly disciplinedll and
"improperly dismissed" in September/October, 1992, and that his
rights under the Crown Emolovees Collective Barqaininq Act
s 18.2 (c) , and under the Collective Agreement had thereby been
violated. He is seeking reinstatement to his previous position
or equivalent, and reimbursement with interes't, for all lost
wages, benefits and loss of monies due to the Employer's actions,
from his last date of work which was September 20, 1992
I, At the outset of the hearing, the Employer raised a
preliminary objection with respect to the jurisdiction of the
I Board on the grounds that Mr Garriewas an unclassified employee
I whose final contract expired on October 22, 1992, and that the,
I Board had no jurisdiction with respect to the non-renewal or the
reasons for non-renewal of the Grievor's contract The Employer
cited the Public Service Act, sections 8 and 9
8 -(1) A minister or any public servant who is
designated in writing for the purp,ose by him may
appoint for alperiod of not more than one year on the
first appointment and for any period on any subsequent
appointment a person to a position in the unclassified
service in any Ministry over which he presiqes
9 A person who is appointed to a position in the
public service for a specified period ceases to be a
public servant at the expiration of that period R S 0
1980, c 418, s 9
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Following the well-established jurisprudence of the Grievance
Settlement Board on this issue, the Board ruled that it did not
have jurisdiction with respect to the non-rE!newa1 of the
Grievor's contract However, it did find'that it had
jurisdiction for the period of the contract and therefore, it was
prepared to hear evidence with respect to the alleged
"discipline" and "dismissal" in the context of ~he contract which
was to expire on October 22, 1992 --""
Having consulted with each other, at the suggestion of the
Board, the representatives of both sides decided to proceed
immediately and the hearing was completed on that day The Union
called evidence from the Grievor; the Employer chose not to call
evidence The evidence presented by the Union was therefore
uncontradicted
The viva voce and documentary evidence showed that Mr.
Garrie began working at the Windsor Jail on January 22, 1991. He
was employed under the following series of contra~ts
January 22, 1991 to April 22, 1991
April 22, 1991 to October 22, i991
October 22, 1991 to April 22, 1992
April 22, 1992 to October 22, 1992
During this period, as well as carrying out his assigned duties,
he participated in the four phases of ministry training and
achieved the following results:
Phase I 96 %
Phase II 82 %
Phase III 93.5 %
Phase IV 90 % .
These scores were accompanied by overall positive comments
2
"
Similar comments were included in the two performance appraisals
which were carried out in 1991 and in which he scored, for the
most part, in the top category Mr. Garrie was also the
rec ipient of commendation "prompt and 1
a for courageous action"
following an altercation involving inmates which could have had
serious consequences
On September 22, 1992, Mt Garrie attended at the Windsor
Jail to notify his Employer, in the person of Superintendent ~ -
James Ross, that he had been charged under the Cr~minal Code with
possession of marijuana for the purposes of trafficking He was
informed that because of the charge, he could not work at the
jail and that his name would be removed from the schedule Mr
Garrie testified that he had been working as the Canteen Officer
for the past 5 months and that he observed, at the time he came
to notify his Employer of the charge, a schedule which showed him
scheduled until October 28, 1992 and at least every Wednesday,
which was Canteen Day, during that period. He would, he
testified, have received other shi fts as well, because, as an
unclassified Correctional Officer, he was on call He expected
to receive a further contract. He was aware that It was being .
prepared because of his attendance on on.~ occas1on during that
perio~ at the pay-roll office to sign an attendance sheet he had
forgotten to sign
As confirmation of the fact that he was not to be scheduled,
Mr Garrie received the following letter from Mr.. Ross, dated
September 22, 1992, and sent to his residence
It is alleged that you have been charged wi th a very
serious Criminal charge(s} as of to-day's date
Under the circumstances, I am notifying you that you
will not work or enter the Institution for any reason
until further notice. Please feel free to contact me
if you wish or if you have any questions in reference
to this matter
The Shi f,t Supervisors have been informed that you are
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not to be used for work until further notice
Shortly thereafter, Mr Garrie filed a claim for
Unemployment Insurance benefits and i nf ormedErnployment Canada
that he was "not' suspended" On September 30, 1992, Employment
and Immigration Canada forwarded a form to the Win(jsor Jail which
requested additional information on John Garrie, noting that the
information which Employment and Immigration Canada had was that
Mr Garr ie had been either dismissed or fired Superintendent --
Ross, gave the following explanation
This Man is a Part Time contract employee It has been
alleged that this individual has been charged with a
criminal offence Due to the fact that we are
operating a jail he is not permitted to work at this
time
On September 25, 1992, a staff person from the Correctional
Services Office in North Bay, Ms. Donna Baumann, asked for
information about John Garrie, over and above that which had been
reported in the Windsor Star on the previous day. Specifically,
she wished to know the duration of Mr Garrie's employment at the
Windsor Jail, the type and termination date of his contract,
whether or not the Regional Office had been informed and whether
an investigation by the Investigations Branch was going to be
requested Mr Ormsby, the Young Offender Unit Manager,
provided the answers to the first three questions, stating that
the Regional Off ice had' been informed and referr ing the matter to
Mr Ross with respect to the question of an investigation and
further inquiries
Mr Garrie testified that he did not receive pay in lieu of
shifts, nor did he receive two weeks' pay He also stated that
he was not questioned by anyone and that when he delivered his
recognizance to Mr. Ross he was handed the following letter but
the matter was not discussed with him at that time or later
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CONFIDENTIAL
October 6/92
Mr J Garrie I
Casual Correctional Officer 2
Windsor Jail
Dear Mr. Garrie
RE: CONTRACT --''''
This letter is to advise you that your con,tract as a
Casual Correctional Officer at this Instibution will
not be renewed Your [~] expiry dat'e of your
contract is October 22, 1992.
You are also instructed to return all items' that were
issued to you which would include your Ministry's
identification card.
Yours Truly,
SIGNED
D STROUD,
DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT, .
WINDSOR JAIL.
On October 16, 1992, the Institution, under the signature of
D Stroud, peputy Superintendent, issued an "Employee
Separation/Work Performance Record" in which it was stated that
Mr Garrie's employment period was from January 22, 1991 to
October 22, 1992, when in fact, his last day of work had been
September 20, 1992. The document defined the reason for
separation as "Non-renewal of Contract" and also noted that, the
quality of his work was "above average", he had a "good rapport
with all levels of staff" and his attendance and punctuality were
"very good" Mr Stroud answered the question of whether or not
he would rehire this employee as follows
Staff member was charged with possession of mar i j uana for
the purpose of trafficking Once the trust of an employee
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is lost, they do not fit into this type of environment
The staff person from Employment and Immigration Canada
spoke with Mr Ross after October 22nd and be f or:e November 9th,
and noted, following this telephone conversation, that
employer stated that although current
contract ended on Oct 22/92 there is no
reason to believe it would not have been
extended as is their usual practice ,~ ~
the work was and is available beyond 22 Oct
92 & the contract would have been extended
claimant has been a contr,act employee since
he started with them I
the reason he is no longer working is because
of the incident that occurr~d.
Based on the information from the conversation, this individual,
C. Delisle, signed a "stop Payment", effective November 9, 1992.
Mr. Garrie testified that he was told by the Employment Canada
staff person that his un~mployment was "[his] doing" and as a
result, he was assessed a penalty of 9 weeks.
The Employer did not contest this documentary evidence
Arqument
Mr Mitch Bevan for the Union, acknowledged that an
unclassified employee cannot grieve the non-renewal of a contract
but submitted that the power which the EmplqYer has to terminate
an unclassified employee's employment through non-renewal results
in severe limitations to the entitlement of such an individual
and therefore the Employer should be held to the strict
boundaries of non-renewal He noted that evidence demonstrated
the Grievor had become well qualified and had been an excellent
employee and, that a charge laid by the police had terminated his
career as a correctional officer one month before the expected
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renewal of his contract No attempt was made, Mr Bevan
submitted, to contact or accommodate the Grievor in any way He
was, in effect, disciplined by being suspended "By going back
into the Gr i evor' s Apr i I 22, 1992 - October 22, ~992 contract by
one month", the Employer has, in effect, Mr Bevan argued,
"stretched the boundaries of its power of non.:..renewal". The
Employer cannot, he asserted, "be allowed to enter into an
existing contract by telling the employee that he cannot work
until further notice" He views the Employer's action as "trying .~
to get away with discipline without just cause" by terming it "a
suspension from work" and the Employer had 'no cause because the
cause "went away", in that the charges were eventually
withdrawn He submitted that if, at the outset of an employee's
contract, a situation arose in which the Employer alleged
culpable conduct, then the Employer could simply wait out the
contract and issue a notice of non-renewal, since unclassified
employees cannot grieve the non-renewal of a contract Mr Bevan
asked the Board to exercise extreme caution when considering the
removal of an employee's right to grieve discipline. Mr. Bevan
asserted that the Grievor was dismissed because of a "criminal
charge", 'and that this is contrary to the Ministry's own
directive. T.he " W 0 r k p I a"'c e Discrimination and Harassment
Prevention" Directive which is one of the Human Resources
Directives and Guidelines became effective in March, 1992 It
applies to
all ministries and Schedule I agencies
subject to Management Board of Cabinet
directives
all employees, both classified and
unclassified, including interns, summer
students and co-op students, appointed under
the Public Service Act;
It sets out, among others, the following principles
/
The Ontario government as an employer is
responsible for providing a workplace that is
free from harassment and discrimination.
7
Employees have the right to fair and
equitable conditions of employment wIthout
discrimination or harassment because of
race/color, anc,estry, place of origin, ethnic
origin, language or dialect spoken,
citizenship, religion, sex (including
pregnancy) , sexual orientation, age (16-64),
marital status, fami ly status, actual or
perceived disability [ . ] criminal charges o~
cr iminal record '... ... I
As well, this directive sets out a complaints procedure Mr
Bevan also argued that the Grievance Settlement Board
jurisprudence has established that failure by the Employer to
abide by its own directives is fatal to a case. The Board, Mr.
Bevan submitted, should fashion a remedy, which demonstrates to
the Employer that it must work within both the jurisprudence of
the Grievance Settlement Board and its own directives.
Mr Bevan submitted that the Grievor, Mr Garrie, should be
put back in his job for a period of one month and should be
entitled to retroactivity since the evidence shows there ~as no
just cause and the Employer did not attempt to prov,e otherwise.
It is, he maintained, uncontradicted that the Grievor would have
been givel1 at least one more contract.
Ms Anna Gulbinski, for the Employer, acknowledged that the
Employer had some liability for the period from September 20 to
October 22, 1992, at least for pay in lieu of notice, if this had
not already been provided She went on to argue that there was
no evidence to show that there had been a conscious action on the
part of the Employer to sever the employment relationship in
September, only a determination that the Grievor was not to work
"until further notice" How, she questions, could the withdrawal
of charges one year hence have impacted on the determination of
the Employer in September, 1992 It is, Ms Gulbinski, asserted,
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the Employe~'s position that the suspension was non~disciplinary,
that there is no evidence to show that there was any intention on
the part of the Employer not to renew "on that day", despite the
non-renewal letter of October 6, 1992
With respect to the allegation of the Union that Mr Garrie
has been discriminated against, Ms Gulbinski maintained that a
determination under the Workplace Discrimination and Harassment
Policy is beyond the jurisdiction of the Grievance Settlement ~-
Board Mr Bevan replied that the Board can consider
discrimination under Article A of the Collective Agreement. This
article reads as follows:
ARTICLE A - NON DISCRIMINATION/EMPLOYMENT EQUITY
All There shall be no discrimination
practised by reason of race, ance'stry,
place of origin, colour, ethnic or,igin,
citizenship, creed, sex, s e'x u a 1
orientation, age, marital status, family
status, or handicap, as defined in
section 10(1) of the Ontario Human
Rights Code ( OHRC) .
This section reads as follows
.
10.-(1) A right of a person under Part I is infringed
where a requirement, qualification or factor exists
that is not discrimination on a prohibited ground but
that results in the exclusion, restriction or
preference of a groUp of persons who areideQtified by
a prohibited ground of discrimination and of whom the
person is a member, except where,
{a} the requirement, qualificatio~ or
factor is reasonable and bona fide
in the circumstances; or
(b) it is declared in this Act, other
than in section 16, that to
discriminate because of such ground
is not an infringement of a right.
He asserted that the Workplace D i scr imination and Harassment
poliCY is not the only pol icy to be considered, and it must be
9
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reconciled with the business of the Ministry at hand
Decision
Mr Ross is the Superintendent of Windsor Jail and in that
capacity he is responsible for the safety and the custodial care
of the inmates sentenced or remanded to the Insti.tution. He is
also responsible for the health and safety of employees, as
indeed they are themselves It is reasonable to assume that the ~,;"-
inmate population of this particular jail, as it i!s with others,
includes during most periods of time, individuals who have drug
I
involvement with and/or addictions to banned substances On
September 23, 1992, Mr. Ross decided that John Garrie, who had
been charged wi th but not convicted of a drug-related cr iminal
offence, namely possession of marijuana for the purposes of
trafficking, should be removed from the schedule "until further
notice", as the letter of September 22nd, states, thus preventing
him from having contact with inmates at the Institution and, as
well, preventing the inmates at the Institution from having
contact with him The Employer presented no evidence to indicate
that it had grounds at that time, to conclude that Mr. Garr ie was
either guilty, or innocent of the charge
The Board has reviewed the documentary evidence and noted
some statements of the Employer can be interpreted as not
indicating finality, and others which clearly do indicate
finality An examination of the documentary evidence illustrates
this. In his letter of September 22, 1992, Mr Ross ,states that
It is alleged you have been charged .
Under the circumstances (the fact that the Grievor has been
charged] you will not work or enter the Institution
for any reason until further notice you are not to
be used for work untll further notice
While Mr Ross qualified his statement with "until further
notice", the statement was in the context of knowing that Mr
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Garrie's contract would expire within a few weeks On or about
September 30th, 1992, Mr Ross wrote to Employment and
Immigration Canada that "This man is [not 'was' ] a part time
employee" and he referred to the fact that it had been "alleged"
he had been charged (In actual fact, the documents which Mr
Garrie presented to Mr Ross were proof that he had already, been
charged In other words, the charge was a fact not an
allegation It wa s however 'alleged that he was in possession of
marijuana for the purposes of trafficking ) Mr Ross concluded ,~ ~
by stating that "Due to the fact that we are operating a jail he
is not permitted to work at this time" This statement does
suggest that he might be able to work in future Also, the
statement gives the impression that there is a rule which states
that an employee of a jail who has been charged ~ith a criminal
offence cannot work in a jail. No evIdence was entered to
support the existence of such a policy or directi~e. On October
16, 1992, Mr. Stroud wrote to the Grievor informing him that his
contract would not be renewed. He gave no reason On the same
day, Mr stroud completed the "Employee Separation/Work
Performance Record", noting that the Grievor was' "charged with
possession of marijuana for the purpose of traffiCking " and .
stating that "Once the trust of an employee is lo~t, they do not
fit into this type of environment" From Mr. Stroud's comments,
it appears that the point at which the trust is l:ost is when an
employee is charged and that whether he or she is ultimately
proven innocent or guilty is irrelevant Shortly after, on
October 22, 1992, Mr Ross informed an Employment and Immigration
Canada employee that the Grievor, although a contract employee,
would most probably have continued to work were it not for "the
incident that occurred " This is capable of at least two
interpretations and one does not know with any certainty whether
or not Mr Ross was referring to 'the charge' or to the alleged
'possession' However, one can conclude that whichever, it wa s ,
charging, with the guilt or innocence undetermined, or an
assumption that the Grievor was found with marijuana in quantity
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sufficient for trafficking, that either situation would have
resulted in his not working, and in a severing of the employment
relationship ~
The Board has concluded, following a review of the
documentary evidence and after hearing the evidence of the
Grievor, that Mr Ross and Mr ,S t r 0 u d , a c t,e d either on the
assumption that Mr Garrie was guilty as charged or considered
that alleqations of criminal activity were sufficient to suspend ,~ ~
him from work, not renew his contract and terminat~ his career as
a Correctional Officer
During its deliberations, the Board also reviewed OPSEU
(Mandar) and The Crown in Riqht of ,Ontario (Ministry of
Correctional Services) GSS It 87/93, (Waisglass) issued March 15,
1994. -It sets out, in part, a section af the Ministry's "Policy
and Procedures for Adult Institutions", in particu~ar the subject
of "Emp_loyees Charged with or Found Guilty of Cri~inal Offenses"
at pages 13 and 14
PROCEDURES:
*********
5. In consultation with the regional director/manager
the superintendent shall then conduct a full review of
all available information concerning the employee's
charge and employment record, including information
provided by the inspector, in order to decide on the
most appropriate course of action to be taken' with the
employee [Emphasis added]
While each case must be judged on its own merits, the
following courses of action are avai~able to
superintendents
a) no action
b) job reassignment within the parameters of the
Collective Aareement and/or the Public I
Service Act;
I
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c) leave of absence, or
d} disciplinary action, up to and including "
dismissal " ,
Guidelines
Decisions involving employees charged with or found
guilty of criminal offenses shall be based on a
comprehensive evaluation of all relevant and available
information and on the real or potential effects of the ~ ~
charges on the ministry's legitimate and substantial
interests Cases shall always be decided individually
on their own merits.
When making decisions, superintendents shall cons ider
the following information where available:
a) the nature and seriousness of the criminal
charge;
b) whether or not the offense occurred ih the
course of employment with the ministry;
c) any explanation or statement of mi tig,ating
factors for the offense provided by the
employee;
d) whether or not the empioyee is remanded in
custody, sentenced to custodial term or
SUbject to future legal proceedings;
e) the position, duties and responsibiliti~s of
the employee and the impact that the criminal
charge may have on the employee's abilities
to perform those duties and responsibilixies;
f) the impact that the criminal charge may have
on other employees and on the legitimate and
substantial interests of the ministry;
g) the employment record of the employee; and
h) the existence of a prior criminal record of
the employee, subject to the provisions of
the Ontario Human Riqht Code (sic)
*********
Employees who are charged with or found guilty of
criminal offences may be unable to fulfill th~ir duties
and responsibilities because:
a) they are detained pending legal proceedings
or have been sentenced to a custodial term;
b) they may have breached the position of trust
13
that is an intrinsic part of employment in
the public service or have committed a breach
of the employer-employee relationship
c) they may be unable to maintain satisfactory
working relations with peers and/or offenders
in their care
The Board reviewed the evicence and makes the following
findings ~ ~
that i twas reasonable, in the context of a
correctional institution, for the
Sup~rintendent to prevent the Grievor from
exercising his correctional officer dut;ies
until the allegations had been dealt with
either through the internal investigation and
review system or through the criminal justice
system;
I
. that Mr. Ross and Mr. Stroud made conclusions
about the guilt or innocence of the Grievor
and assumed that he was guilty as charged;
. tha t Mr Ross made no attempt to accommodate
the Grievor;
that neither Mr Ross, nor Mr. Stroud
discussed the matter with the Grievor; .
. that Mr. Ross did invite the Grievor to
contact him if he wished to do so or if he
had any questions in reference to his
prohibition from ~nteringand working at the
Institution;
. that the Grievor did not avail himself of Mr.
Ross's invitation
. that the Employer did not undertake an
investigation and/or review
In Mandar, suora. the Employer had carried out an
investigation, followed the guidelines and the Deputy
Superintendent was then criticized for not "giving the guidelines
sufficiently serious consideration in his decision-making
process'" and for failing "to apply the policy directives
14
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appropriately" ( At pages 15 and 17 respectively ) In the
instant case, Mr. Ross undertook no sort of investlgation himself
nor did he delegate such an investigation to anyone, or request
t_hat one be carried out by the Investigations Branch. In fact,
prior to placing a memorandum dated September 25, 1992, from Mr.
ormsby (Exhibit 11) recounting a telephone conversation with Ms
Baumann of the Correctional Services Office in North Bay, in the
" Incident file" he appended the following note
~
This matter was resolved by Mr Ormsby (answe'red) . No
need for an inspector
According to the procedures cited above ".. the superintendent
~hall then conduct a full review " [Emphasis added] However, it
is the opinion of this Board, that Mr Ross and Mr Stroud were
influenced by the fact that the Grievor's contract was to expire
within a two-week period and that they chose the route which
appeared the easiest at the time, disregarding the procedures and
any rights the Grievor might have under the Collective Agreement
or any procedural and substantive rights the Grievor might
benefit from under the "Workplace Discrimination and Harassment
Prevention Directive", the "Policy and Procedures for Adult
Institutions" or the, Ontar i 0 Human Rights Code Their chosen
route involved by-passing the Ministry policy for dealing with
"Employees Charged with or Found Guilty of Criminal Offenses"
thereby depriving the Grievor of the opportuni tyof continuing
and developing his career as a Correctional Officer The
uncontradicted evidence which was presented to the Board, shows
his performance to have been more than satisfactory, the work to
have been available 'and the renewal of his contract expected
The Board finds that the Employer has failed to follow its
own procedures for dea ling with "Employees Charged with or
Found Gu i 1 ty of Criminal Offenses", set out in its Policy and
Procedures for Adul t Institutions. These procedures, along with
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I
the "Workplace Discrimination and Harassment Prevention
Directive" are safeguard$ against arbitrary actions and while
they may seem cumbersome at times, adherence to them offers
protection to both the Employer and the employees Failure to
follow them may have serious implications for an 'employee and the
fact that the employee is unclassified, should not mean that he
or she is subjected to arbitrary treatment The Board recognizes
that unclassified Corrrectional Officers do i have the
not same
protection classified Correctional Officers under the .~ -~
as
Collective Agreement Nonetheless, they do have ~ basic right to
be presumed innocent, until proven guilty. The procedures
recognize this and help to ensure it.
Based on the uncontradicted evidence, the Board has before
it, a situation in which a trained, unclassified Correctional
Officer with a record of good performance for the duration of his
employment, expected and was expected to have, at least, a
further six-month contract. On the basis of all'egations, and a
charge relating to matters outside the workplace which was later
withdrawn, he has been deprived, without investigation or review,
,
of the final month of his ~xisting contract, the expected renewal
of a further six-month contract, and a career as a Correctional
Officer. The Board recognizes the Superintendent's right and
indeed responsibility to respond to a criminal c~arge involving
drugs by preventing the employee from carrying out his duties as
a Correctional Officer The difficulty arises, however, when
this restriction is not followed up promptly' with the
investigative and review procedures set out in the Ministry
policies
The Board acknowledges that considerable time has passed
since September, 1992 and the fact that it has no jurisdiction to
deal with the non-renewal of an employee's contract It is of
the opinion, however, that the Grievor, based on the record of
his performance as presented in uncontradicted evidence, deserves
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,
..
the opportunity of undergoing the investigation rand review which
the Employer failed to undertake, and of having the Employer
consider those results Accordingly, the Board orders the
Employer to undertake a review with respect to the Grievor's
criminal charge and to tfollow this up, according to the
procedures and guidelines with which the Ministry is required to
comply, that is the Policy and Procedures for Adu'lt Institutions,
"Employees Charged with or Found Guilty of Crimin~l Offenses"
,-
As we II, f 0.11 0 win g Ministry of Correctional Services &
OPSEU (Miller and MacPhail) GSB 531/82 (Verity), which has been
judicially reviewed and stands for the remedies for unclassified
grievors, of reinstatement for the balance of a contract, and
reti::oactivity, the Board ,requires the Employer to reinstate the
Grievor for the balance of his contract
Further, the Employer is to provide to the Grievor
retroactivity from 20 days prior to the date of the filing of his
grievance, (November 25, 1993) to the date of reinstatement . The
payment is to be based on the Grievor's average regular "hours
worked, excluding overtime, during the first 8 months of 1992
The Grievor's tota~ income (that is, income from other sources as
well) for the retroactivity period should not exceed his income
from regular hours from the Ministry of Correctional Services for
the same period of time prior to S~ptember, 20, 19.92.
17
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The Board will rema i n seized of this matter to assist the
parties with the implementation of the order, should assistance
be required
"-
f
Dated at Kingston
The 12th of April, 1995
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"1 Dissent" (dissent to follow)
D C Montrose, Member
1 - /Dissent
~a- -
E. Seymour, Member
Concur / 1 L ..-.
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ii
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GARRIE \
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2039/93
DISSENT EMPLOYER MEMBER
I have reviewed the decision of the majority and must respectfully dissent from
their decision This award follpws the pattetn of a~ards spawned by Ministry of
Correctional Services, & OPSEU (Millar and MacPhail) GSB 531/82 (Verity), which
stands for the remedies for unclassified grievors, of reinstat~ment for the
balance of a contract, which in ~y estimation is correct, and retroactivity
which I believe is fundamentally wrong
The Public Service Act sections 8 & 9
8 -( 1) A minister or any public servant who is designated in wri'ting for the
purpose by him may appoint for a period of not more than one y~ar on the first
appointment and for any period on any subsequent appointment a person to a
position in the unclassified service in any Ministry over which he presides
9 A person who is appointed to a position in the public service for a
specified period ceases to be public servant at the expiration of that period
R S 0 1980, c 418, s 9
The Act is clear, when the contract ends, it endsF there is no more, it is
final No notice of termination is required, (although by courtesy is given in
some cases) The contract automatically self-destructs on its termination date
I agree with Millar & MacPhail to the extent, an all edged infra,ction by an J
. employee which cancels his/her contract during it's term and subsequently is
" found to be "in error" by a Board of Arbitration, the incumbent is allowed to
return to work to fulfill the term of the contract until it expires In this
.. instant case (Garrie) approximately one month is involved
J
The nature of the unclassified empJoyee's contract is 'basically to "fill in"
shifts let vacant by classified employees, on account of sickness, leave of
absence, vacation, etc The unclassified employee has no guarantee of any hours
per day, per week or even during the term of the contract An'unclassified
employee ordered back by a Board of Arbitration to fulfill the balance of a
contract is still subject to the possible condition of no employment, e g
everyone gets healthy, unclassified do not work
I take the position, to grant hours paid as if they would have qeenworked
beyond the expiry of the contrapt, is fund~entally wrong The assumption
an unclassified employee will work the same hours in the future as in the
past, based on average hours worked in the past is without foundation A layoff
or diminished operations at the facility would leave unclassified employees witl1
little or no employment This condition could result in ~he ab~urb possibility
of classified employees on layoff_and an unclassified employee being paid for
mythical hours not worked
For the above reasons, the grievor should be reinstated for the period for
approximately one month (September 20 to October 22, 1992 being the
actual period of suspension) or pay in lieu of actually working
\
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D C Montrose
Employer Member
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