HomeMy WebLinkAbout1995-1603LANE98_10_23
ONTARIO EMPLOY~S DE LA COURONNE
CROWN EMPLOYEES DE L'ONTARIO
1111 GRIEVANCE COMMISSION DE
,
SETTLEMENT REGLEMENT
BOARD DES GRIEFS
180 DUNDAS STREET WEST, SUITE 600, TORONTO ON M5G 1Z8 TELEPHONE/TELEPHONE (416) 326-1388
180,RUEDUNDAS OUEST BUREAU600, TORONTO (ON) M5G tZ8 FACSIMILE/TELECOPIE (416) 326-13g(J
GSB # 1603/95, 1290/96
OPSEU 95G207, 96D879
. IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION
Under
THE CROWN EMPLOYEES COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ACf
Before
THE GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT BOARD
BETWEEN
Ontario Public Service Employees Uruon
(Dan Lane)
Grievor
- and -
The Crown in Right of Ontario
(Ministry of Community and Social Services)
Employer
EFORE Owen V Gray Vice-Chair
FOR THE Cameron Walker
GRIEVOR Grievance Officer
Ontano Public ServIce Employees Union
FOR THE Aileen Cassells
EMPLOYER Employee Relations AdVIser
Employee RelatlOns Unit
Human Resources Branch
Ministry of Community and Social Servtces
HEARING July 16, 1998
DECISION
[1] Dan Lane was an unclassIfied employee for 16 months before he was ap-
.
pomted to the classIfied servIce m 1991 He and the umon assert that the em-
ployer has Improperly calculated ills contmuous servIce date under what IS now
ArtIcle 18 1(b) of the partIes' current collectIve agreement. That artIcle provIdes
as follows
ARTICLE 18 - SENIORITY (LENGTH OF CONTINUOUS SERVICE)
18.1 An employee's length of contmuous servIce will accumulate upon
completIOn of a probatIOnary penod of not more than nme (9) months
and shall commence.
(b) from the date estabhshed by addmg the actual number of full
tune weeks worked by a full tune unclassuied employee durmg
hIS full tune employment back to the first break m employment
whIch IS greater than thrrteen (13) weeks,
"full tune" IS contmuous employment as set out m the hours of
work schedules for the appropnate classuicatIOns,
[2] The questIOns WIth whIch the partIes WIsh me to deal m thIS deCISIOn fo-
cus on a perIod m 1990 and 1991 durmg whIch the grIevor was employed as a
casual unclaSSIfied employee pursuant to contracts whIch prOVIded that he would
be employed for up to 40 hours per week. At Issue IS whether certam weeks m
1990 and 1991 were "full-time weeks worked" for whIch the grIevor IS entitled to
credIt pursuant to ArtIcle 18 1(b) In dIspute are weeks durmg WhICh
a) the grIevor was scheduled to work 40 hours m the week but was
paId for less than 40 hours because he arrIved late for work one
day;
b) the grIevor was scheduled to work 40 hours m the week but was
paId for less than 40 hours because he was SIck or left early one day
due to Illness, or,
2
c) the gnevor was scheduled to work and dId work five dlstmct 8 hour
shIfts but got paId at the overtime rate for all or part of one those
ShIfts because It began less than 24 hours after the begmrung of the
prevlOUS shIft, wIth the result that the number of hours for whlCh
he was paId at the regular rate was less than 40
One of the }ssues m dIspute about dyas or hours not worked due to Illness IS
whether the gnevor was or IS entitled under what was formerly ArtIcle 38 1 to
have attendance credIts applIed so as to quahfy to have them treated as though
they had been worked. ArtIcle 3 8 1 provIded, m part, as follows
38.1 Employees who work thrrty.sIX and one-quarter (36~) or forty (40)
hours per week shall earn attendance credIts of one and one-quarter
(l~) days for each calendar month of full attendance or for each
calendar month of leave-of absence granted under SectIOn 3 9
Attendance crechts may be used for protectIOn purposes only m the
event that an employee IS unable to attend to hIS offiCIal dutIes by
reason of illness or mJury
Facts
[3] Before the hearmgs began, the partIes agreed on the followmg facts
1) The partIes agree to the followmg facts for the purpose of the arbItratIOn
of Mr Dan Lane s grIevances dated August 7 1995 (OPSEU #95G207,
GSB 1603/95) and May 2,1996 OPSEU #96D879; GSB 1290/96)
2) Mr Lane IS a Youth Worker classIfied as a CorrectIOnal Officer 2
employed by the MmIstry of Commumty and SOCIal ServIces at Syl Apps
Youth Centre.
3) The partIes agree that the grIevor's employment hIStOry IS as follows
a) June 13, 1990 September 30, 1990 UnclassIfied Casual
b) October 1, 1990 March 31, 1991 UnclassIfied Casual
c) March 11, 1991 March 31, 1991 UnclassIfied Full Time
d) Apru1, 1991 September 30, 1991 UnclassIfied Full Time
e) October 1, 1991 October 13 1991 UnclassIfied Full Time
f) October 14, 1991 to present ClassIfied Full Time
4) The gnevor's contmuous servIce date estabhshed by the MmIstry of
Commumty and SOCIal ServIces prIor to the deCISIOn m Scott et al. GSB
1434/96 was September 21, 1990
5) The employer calculated the contmuous servIce date prIor to Scott et al.
to mclude 25 full tune weeks worked durmg the two unclassIfied casual
contracts described m (a) and (b) above and to mclude all tune worked m
the three unclassIfied full tune contracts.
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6) On February 15, 1993, the umon and management at Syl Apps sIgned
Millutes of Settlement agreemg to credIt employees who are ill Irregular
unclassIfied contract WIth 125 attendance credIts for each calendar
month where employees worked a millrmum of 160 regular non-overtrme
hours ill each calendar month retroactIve to April 1, 1992 or to pay the
employee for the accumulated credIts at the rate of 50%.
7) The partIes agree that the Issues related to the apphcatlOn of overtrme,
the rmpact of attendance credIts and SIck leave, and the Issue of 'late
arnvals' ill determmillg the employee's contmuous selVIce date are still
outstandIng.
After the hearIng began, the partIes agreed on the addItIOnal facts set out in the
follOWIng paragraphs
[4] In 1987, the umon and management at Syl Apps entered Into mInutes of
settlement that prOVIded that effective Apnl 1, 1987, the Employer at the Syl
Apps Campus would pay 1Y2 times the baSIC hourly rate to "part time casual
CorrectIOnal Officers for all hours worked In excess of eIght (8) In a work day"
[5] The partIes' collectIve agreement for the perIOd January 1, 1989 to De-
cember 31, 1991 made thIS provISIOn for overtIme for unclaSSIfied staff:
3 4 One and one-half (1 %) tImes the baSIC hourly rate shall be paid for
authOrIzed hours of work performed.
(a) ill excess of seven and one-quarter (7V.) or eIght (8) hours per day, as
apphcable, where employees work a regular thIrty-SIX and one-
quarter (36V.) or forty (40) hour work week, as apphcable, or
(b) ill excess of the scheduled hours for employees who work on a
regularly scheduled work day exceedIng eight (8) hours, or
(c) ill excess of the employees' regularly scheduled work week, or
(d) ill excess of thIrty-SIX and one-quarter (36V.) or forty (40) hours per
week where employees do not have regularly scheduled work days.
[6] In 1990 and 1991 the employer Interpreted and applIed the preVIOusly
mentIOned 1987 settlement at the Syl Apps Campus In such a way that If a cas-
ual unclaSSIfied employee worked a shIft that started less than 24 hours after
the begInmng of hIS or her prevIOUS shIft, the employee would paId for that en-
tire second shIft at the overtIme rate To better understand thIS, I asked about
the follOWIng hypothetical work schedule
Day Sched uled shIft
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Monday 8 00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m.
Tuesday 400 pm. to 12.00 p.m.
Wednesday 4 00 p.m. to 12 00 p m.
Thursday 8.00 a.m. to 4'00 p.m.
Friday 800 a.m. to 4'00 p.m.
Although thIS schedule does not mvolve workmg more than 8 hours on any cal-
endar day, nor m any of the succeSSIve 24 hour periods commencmg wIth the be-
gmnmg of the first shIft, the partIes agreed that a casual unclassIfied employee
at Syl Apps who worked tills schedule would have been paId for the entIre
Thursday shIft at the overtIme rate because that shIft starts less than 24 hours
after the begmnmg of the Wednesday sluft.
[7] For the pay period July 20 to 26, 1990, the grIevor receIved 36 5 hours'
pay at the regular rate and 9 hours' pay at the overtIme rate. EIght of the nme
hours for whIch he receIved pay at the overtIme rate mvolved a dIstmct shIft
worked on July 22, 1990, a perIOd not contIguous m tIme wIth any of the periods
for willch he receIved pay at the regular rate The employer paId for all of that 8
hour shIft at the overtIme rate because the shIft began less than 24 hours after
the begmnmg of the grIevor's prevIOUS shIft, and It felt oblIged to pay for those
hours at the overtIme rate by VIrtue of the 1987 settlement. In thIS and other m-
stances m whIch a dIstmct work shIft attracted an overtIme rate because of Its
tImmg, the employer takes the posItIOn that shIft cannot be counted m deter-
mmmg whether the week was a "full tIme" week "worked" for purposes of ArtIcle
18 1, that the only hours that can be counted are hours paId for at the regular
rate
[8] For the pay period July 27 to August 2, 1990, the grIevor receIved 39
hours' pay at the regular rate and 8 hours' pay at the overtIme rate The grIevor
had been scheduled to work five 8 hour shIfts that week. On July 27, 1990, how-
ever, he was one hour late for hIS scheduled shIft. He was not paId for that hour
and, thus, only receIved 39 hours' pay for hIS first five shIfts that week. The eIght
hours for whIch he receIved pay at the overtIme rate mvolved a separate atten-
dance at work on August 1, a period not contIguous m tIme wIth any of the peri
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ods for which he received pay at the regular rate The employer paid for all of
that 8 hour shIft at the overtime rate because the shIft began less than 24 hours
after the begmnmg of hIS prevIOUS shift.
[9] For the pay penod September 14 to 20, 1990, the gnevor received 32
hours' pay at the regular rate and 21 hours' pay at the overtime rate The gnevor
worked SIX ~hstmct shifts of 8 hours (or more) that week. Two of them - the
shifts on September 16 and 20 - were paid for at the overtime rate because they
began less than 24 hours after the begmnmg of the prevIOUS shift.
[10] For the pay penod September 21 to 27, 1990, the gnevor received 39
hours' pay at the regular rate and 16 hours' pay at the overtime rate The grlevor
had been scheduled to work five 8 hour shifts that week. On September 21, 1990,
he was one hour late for hIS scheduled 8 hour shIft. He was not paId for that
hour The additional 8 hour shift he worked on September 24 was all paid for at
the overtime rate because It began less than 24 hours after the begmmng of hIS
prevIOUS shift.
[11] The gnevor was scheduled to work 40 hours m the pay penod November
23 to 29, 1990 He was sick on November 25, and did not work the 8 hour shift
for which he was scheduled that day HIs pay for that pay penod consisted of 32
hours' pay at the regular rate The employer was not gIvmg casual unclassified
employees attendance credIts at that time If It had been, the grIevor would have
drawn on attendance credits and been paid for 40 hours that week.
[12] In the pay penod January 11 to 17, 1991, the gnevor worked 8 hours on
each of the first four days, January 11 through 14, mclusIve He was scheduled
to work 8 hours on February 16 He called m sick, but was asked to come m
anyway He went m late and left early that day because he was sick. He only
worked 5 hours that day, for a total of 37 hours for the week.
[13] In calculatmg the gnevor's contmuous service date, the employer con-
cluded that the weeks referred to m paragraphs [7] through [12] were not weeks
for which credit should be given.
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[14] The umon ImtIally took the posItIOn that the grIevor should have been
gIven credIt for workmg a "full tIme" week m the pay perIod January 25 to 31,
1991, m WhICh the grIevor was paId for 32 hours at the regular rate and 9 hours
at the overtIme rate When the partIes revIewed the nature of the overtIme for
thIS week, however, they concluded that thIs was not one of the occaSIOns when
the grIevor was paId at the overtIme rate for all of a dIstmct 8 hour shIft by rea-
.
son only of ItS havmg started less than 24 hours after the begmmng of the preVI-
ous shIft. The partIes IdentIfied only five occaSIOns on whIch that occurred. Those
five occaSIOns are described m paragraphs [7] through [10] (mclusIve) above
[15] The umon grIevance that was settled as mdIcated m subparagraph 6) of
paragraph [4] above was dated May 28, 1992 It alleged that "Employer IS m
vIOlatIOn of ArtIcle 3 8 1" and described the settlement desIred as follows
Employer comply WIth the terms of the Collective Agreement. Employees are
compensated retroactIvely where non-comphance has resulted ill demal of
SIck leave credIts.
Argument
[16] The umon argued that someone who works five dIstmct shIfts of 8 hours
each m a week has worked a "full-time" week, whether or not some of those
hours attract a premIUm pay rate The employer argued that the only hours
worked that can count toward a "full time" week are those for whIch the normal
hourly rate IS paId. Reference was made to the GSB's deCISIOns m Parent,
1207/89 (deCISIOn dated March 7, 1990, Knopf), Morton, 2520/91 (deCISIOn dated
June 16, 1993, Barrett) and Scott et al, 1434/96 (deCISIon dated AprIl 2, 1997,
Gray)
[17] With respect to hours not worked because the grIevor was SIck, the umon
argued that the grIevor was entitled to attendance credIts whIch could and
should have been applIed so that they would be treated as though he had worked
those hours The employer submItted that the settlement of February 15, 1993
precludes gIVmg the grIevor any attendance credIts for 1990 and 1991 because
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the partIes agreed that attendance credIts would only be gIven retroactlve to
Apnl 1, 1992 The umon responded that the settlement does not stand m the
gnevor's way because It only covered the penod from Apnll, 1992 forward
[18] WIth respect to the hours not worked because the gnevor was late for
work, the umon argued that when the grIevor was scheduled to work five 8 hour
shIfts m the"week he should not be deprIved of the credIt for that full-tlme week
merely because he was an hour late for work. The employer submItted that "full-
tIme weeks worked" means weeks durmg whIch a full 40 regular (non-overtIme)
hours are worked. It IS not enough that the grIevor was scheduled to work the
reqUIsIte hours, It argued, If he dId not work them. The employer cIted the deCI
SIOn m Unwn Gnevance, 2875/96 (decIsIOn dated Apn116, 1997, DIssanayake)
Decision
[19] When the grIevor was appomted to the classIfied servIce m 1991, the cal-
culatIOn of hIS contmuous servIce date would have been governed by ArtIcle 25 1
of the cOllectlve agreement then m effect. It prOVIded, m relevant part, as follows
25 1 An employee s length of contmuous servIce will accumulate upon
completIOn of a probatIOnary penod of not more than one (1) year and shall
commence
(b) from the date on whIch an employee commences a penod of
unbroken, full time servIce m the publIc servIce, unmedIately
pnor to appomtment to the ClassIfied ServIce,
"Unbroken servIce" IS that whIch IS not mterrupted by separatIOn
from the publIc servIce, "full tune" IS contmuous employment as set
out m the hours of work schedules for the appropnate classIficatIOns
That language was conSIdered m Pltfield, 2564/91 (decIsIOn dated December 14,
1992, Venty), where the Board observed that
The aun of Article 25 l(b) of the collectIve agreement IS to equate full
time employment m the unclassIfied servIce WIth the regular hours of work of
a classIfied employee m order to determme length of contmuous servICe. It IS
an eqUItable conceSSIOn, we thmk, to equate full tune unclassIfied employees,
m thIS case those workmg 40 hours per week, WIth full tune classIfied
employees for the purposes of semonty If the partIes had mtended to mclude
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any employee regardless of hours worked m the unclassIfied servIce, they
could have saId It m a sentence
The drafting of a collectIve agreement mvolves the drawmg of lmes. In
thIS case, we are of the opmIOn that, for the purposes of length of contmuous
servIce, the lme IS drawn from the date that an employee "commences a
penod of unbroken full trme service in the public service, immediately pnor
to appomtment to the ClassIfied ServIce" Unfortunately for the
representatIve grievor, he dIdn't come wIthm the lme masmuch as he worked
32 hours durmg the week pnor to hIS appomtment to the classIfied servIce,
whIch; of course, does not constItute full trme seIVIce.
[20] In Morton, 2520/91 (June 16, 1993, Barrett), the grIevor claImed that he
should have been gIven credIt for SIX months of full time servIce pursuant to Ar-
tIcle 25 1(b) because durmg the SIX months Immediately prIor to hIS appomtment
to the classIfied servIce he worked an average of 40 hours per-week "If overtIme
hours were counted m."
Mr Morton's unclassIfied contracts specIfied that he was to work "as
requITed part trme up to 40 hours per week" He testIfied that he was called
m on an lITegular baSIS to work anywhere from 28 to 64 hours per week
covermg for classIfied staff who were SIck, on vacatIOn, or on trammg courses.
Sometrmes he was scheduled to work one or two days m advance, at other
trmes he was called m at the last mmute He worked anywhere from 4 to 16
hours per day dependmg on need.
When management determmed Mr Morton's semonty date pursuant to
ArtIcle 25 1(b), It looked at the number of weeks rmmedIately precedmg the
appomtment to the classIfied staff m whICh Mr Morton had worked 40
regular hours not mcludmg overtrme. He had worked 40 regular hours' for
five weeks rmmedIately precedIng hIS classIfied appomtment. The SIXth week
back he had worked only 32 regular hours, so management looked no further
to determme the date of hIS "full trme contmuous employment"
The Board adopted the reasonmg m PItfield, WhICh supported the employer's
methodology m calculatmg the grIevor's contmuous servIce date It added the
followmg observatIOns about "regular" and "overtIme" hours
We do not accept the alternatIve argument of the employer that because
Mr Morton was on a part trme contract, he cannot gam any advantage at all
from ArtIcle 25 1(b) If an employee works the regular full trme hours of hIS
or her eqUIvalent CIVll seIVIce classIficatIOn, even though on a part trme
contract, he or she should be credIted WIth those contmuous weeks of servIce
for the purpose of determmmg semonty
We also reject the submISSion of the umon that overtrme hours and
monthly averagmg of hours can be used to constItute "full trme seIVIce" m the
face of a very clear defmItIOn of full trme" contamed m ArtIcle 25.1
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[21] When the partIes negotIated theIr collectIve agreement for the penod
January 1, 1992 to December 31, 1993, they amended ArtIcle 25 1(b) to read
25 1 EffectIve February 3, 1992, an employee's length of contmuous
servIce will accumulate upon completIOn of a probatIOnary penod of not more
than nme (9) months and shall commence
. (b) effectIve January 1, 1992, from the date estabhshed by addIng the
actual number of full trme weeks worked by a full trme
unclassuied employee durmg hIS full trme employment back to
the fIrst break m employment whIch IS greater than thIrteen (13)
weeks,
ThIs new language apphed only to someone appomted to the classIfied servIce
after It took effect. Those who had been appomted pnor to 1992, hke the gnevor,
could not then take advantage of thIs potentIally more generous credIt It pro-
VIded for pre-appomtment unclassIfied servIce ThIS new language was carned
over unchanged mto the partIes' memorandum of settlement of March 29, 1996
concermng the terms of the partIes' 1994/98 collectIve agreement. On May 23,
1996, however, the employer and the umon entered mto an agreement whIch
provIded, m part, that
1 The partIes agree that the prmcIples of ArtIcle 25 1(b) shall apply m cases
of GO Temp employees appomted to the classIfied staff.
2. The partIes agree that ArtIcle 25 1(b) apphes to all employees IrreSpectIVe
of date of appomtment to the classuied seIVIce.
At some time after that, the partIes prepared a revIsed document m whIch the
prOVISIOns of the partIes' 1996 memorandum of settlement have been rearranged,
renumbered and otherwIse edIted to form collective agreement documents that
the partIes agreed would be the offiCIal, effective verSIOns as of February 17,
1997 ArtIcle 181m the new document reflects the results of the amendmg
agreement on what was formerly ArtIcle 25 1
[22] In Unwn Gnevance, 2875/96, the umon complamed that despIte the
agreement of May 23, 1996, claSSIfied employees were not gettmg the same
credIt for pnor GO-Temp servICe as were gIven for other unclassIfied servIce The
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dIfference was wIth respect to absences due to Illness The employer had taken
the posltlOn that days on whlCh a GO-Temp was scheduled to work but dId not
work due to Illness dId not count m determmmg whether he or she had worked a
"full-tIme" week that week for purposes of ArtIcle 18 1 It had, however, counted
such days as days "worked" for unclassIfied employees whose claIm to atten-
dance credIts It had recogmzed. The employer's acknowledgement and explana-
.
bon of thIS dIfference are set out at pages 5 and 6 of the decIslOn.
The employer concedes that It treats an employee JOillillg the classuied
servIce from prIor unclassrlied servIce chfferently than an employee JOillmg
after a perIod of employment ill the unclassIfied servIce Thus an absence due
to sIckness durillg the perIod of employment ill the unclassIfied servIce does
not result ill the dunillIshmg of the calculatIOn of the penod of servIce. The
employer argues that thIS chfferent result for unclassrlied employees, ill
contrast to Go Temp employees, flows from the nature of the rIghts of the two
groups under the collectIve agreement. The employer pOilltS out that
unclassIfied employees, under article 31 are entitled to accumulate SIck leave
credIts to be used when SIckness prevents them from attendmg work. An
unclassuied employee usmg SIck leave credIts IS paId regular wages despIte
the absence Thus, the argument goes despIte the absence due to SIckness
the employee ill effect IS deemed to have actually worked on the day m
questIOn. Therefore that absence does not result m the employee workillg less
than full tIme hours durmg the week.
In contrast, Go Temp employees who do not actually work due to
SIckness, are not deemed to have worked on those days. They are not entItled
under the collective agreement to earn any SIck leave credIts and are not
entItled to be pmd on days they are absent due to SIckness. Therefore, when a
Go Temp IS absent due to sIckness even on a smgle day hIS weekly hours fall
below the full tIme level and that week IS not ehgible for conSIderatIOn under
artIcle 18.1(b)
After revIewmg the P~tfield decIslOn, the Board noted (at page 10) that
WhIle the language of artIcle 18. 1 (b) IS chfferent to [SIC] that of artIcle 25 1(b)
conSIdered m Re PItfield the Board's observatIons about the defillItIon of
"Full trme" are still vahd because that defimtIOn remams unchanged. ArtIcle
18 1(b) contemplates the addItIOn only of full trme weeks worked" ill order to
estabhsh a semorIty date The defuutIOn of "Full trme" means that a week
can be conSIdered full trme" only where the employee has worked the
number of hours specuied for the partIcular classrlicatIOn m the hours of
work schedules.
The Board reJected the umon's argument that those WIth prior Go-Temp servIce
were entItled to the same treatment as those WIth other unclaSSIfied servIce WIth
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respect to days not worked due to sIckness It found that the dIfference m treat
ment was warranted by the language of the collectIve agreement.
A Go-Temp employee does not accumulate sIck leave credIts and IS not
paId durmg an absence due to SIckness. Therefore, there IS no room for
deemmg, even notIOnally, that the employee worked on such a day In
contrast, unclassIfied employees are sItuated drlIerently under the collectIVe
agreement. They do accumulate SIck leave credIts and when they use an
earned SIck cremt on a day of absence, they are deemed to be at work and are
paId theIr wages as u they were at work. Thus despIte an absence due to
SIckness, the employee's hours for the week do not get reduced below full
tune hours. The Board concludes that thIS drlIerence m result on an
apphcatIOn of artIcle 18. 1 (b) IS one dIctated by the collectIve agreement and
that the employer has not contravened the collectIve agreement.
The umon s alternate argument, m my opmIOn, must also fau. ArtIcle
18. 1 (b) contemplates the addItIOn of weeks. The calculatIOn IS to be done m
terms of weeks and not of days. Only "full tune weeks", l.e weeks m whIch
the employee works full tune hours, are to be added. Thus where an
employee does not work full tune hours m a partIcular week, either m fact or
notIonally, that week may not be added m calculatmg the semorIty date
under artIcle 18. 1 (b)
[23] The deCISIOn m Unwn Gnevance, supra, IS the only one CIted to me m
whIch reference IS made to a practice of treatmg hours scheduled but not worked
as though they were hours worked for purposes of ArtIcle 18 1(b) The practIce
described IS that hours scheduled but not worked due to Illness are treated as
though they were worked, but only If attendance credIts were avaIlable and ap-
phed to protect the affected employee's mcome It appears, m other words, that
hours pmd for as a result of the apphcatIOn of attendance credIts are bemg
treated as though they were hours worked for purposes of applymg ArtIcle
18 1(b)
[24] I note that the followmg passage from Parent, 1207/89 (deCISIOn dated
March 7, 1990, Knopf), describes an employer practIce whIch seems to dIffer from
what was described m Umon Gnevance, supra.
Rand L were CIted as havmg worked as Go-Temps, then entered the
classuied servIce and then havmg had theIr semorIty pre-date theIr entry
mto the classuied selVIce by 7 to [SIC] 15 months respectIVely The Employer's
records confirm thIS, but an explanatIOn was offered by the Employer We
were told that the Employer apphes ArtIcle 25(l)(b) [SIC] by lookmg at the
"unbroken selVIce" as a Go-Temp ImmedIately prIor to the appomtment to
the classuied staff and cremtmg the perIod of unbroken selVIce that amounts
- 12
to essentIally full trme servIce. In both cases, the servIce was vrrtually
conSIstent WIth 40 hours per week except for hohdays or illnesses whIch were
allowed. There were also a few exceptIOns of the odd week of less than 40
hours but thIS was Ignored m the employees favour Thus, they were credIted
for the unbroken penod of servIce that essentially matched a full trme
commItment pnor to becommg classIfied.
Later m the decIsIOn, the Board observed that thIS treatment of Rand L was
consIstent WIth the pre-1992 language of ArtIcle 25 1(b) It appears from the
Parent deCIsion that appomtees to the classIfied servIce from Go-Temp posItIOns
were bemg gIven credIt for penods of Illnesses durmg what was otherwIse full-
tIme servIce although (If the Board was correctly mformed m Unwn Gnevance,
supra) attendance credIts were not avaIlable to them. The apparent dIfference
between the practice described m the Parent decIsIOn and the one addressed m
Unwn Gnevance, supra, IS not explamed or mentIOned m the latter decIsIOn,
presumably because the partIes dId not raIse It.
[25] NeIther the eXIstence of the practIce described m Unwn Gnevance, supra,
nor ItS conSIstency WIth the language of ArtIcle 18 1(b) IS m dIspute here A
document on whIch the partIes agreed seems to mdICate that the employer has
treated statutory holIdays for whIch the gnevor receIved pay as though they
were days worked for purposes of ArtIcle 18 1(b) Agam, neIther the eXIstence of
a practIce of so domg nor the conSIstency of such a practIce WIth the language of
ArtIcle 18 1(b) IS m dIspute here Whatever may have been the practIce m ap-
plymg the pre-1992 language of ArtIcle 25 1(b), there IS no eVIdence before me m
thIS matter of any practIce of treatmg hours not worked and not paId for as
though they were hours worked m applymg the "full-tIme weeks worked" Ian
guage now found m ArtIcle 18 1(b) (My deCISIOn of September 30, 1998 m Burke,
0892/98, refers to the employer's InterpretIve Bulletm 22, whIch mdlcates m
paragraphs 4c and 6 that the employer has a practIce of treatmg vacatIOn tIme
as though It was tIme worked under certam CIrcumstances Havmg regard to the
CIrcumstances m whIch credIt IS gIVen, one mIght say thIS IS a speCIes of tIme for
whIch payment has been gIven. In any event, the treatment of vacatIOn tIme IS
- 13 -
not m Issue here, nor IS the correctness of any of the employer's mterpretlve
bulletms )
[26] Accordmgly, on the Issue of scheduled hours not worked due to lateness
(and not paId for through applIcatIOn of attendance credIts), I find that the em
ployer acted correctly m excludmg such hours when calculatmg whether the
gnevor had ."worked" a "full time" week wlthm the meamng of ArtIcle 18 1(b)
The umon's argument m that regard IS essentIally that hours scheduled should
be treated as hours worked whether they are actually worked or not. The Board
ImplIedly rejected that argument m Unwn Gnevance, supra. It found that "a
week can be conSIdered 'full tIme' only where the employee has worked the num-
ber of hours speCIfied for the particular claSSIficatIOn m the hours of work sched-
ules" It accepted the employer's practIce, not challenged by the umon, of treat-
mg some hours paId for but not worked as though they were "notIOnally" worked
or "deemed" worked and, thus, properly treated as "worked" for purposes of ArtI-
cle 18 1(b) In the case of a day not worked due to Illness and not paId for
through applIcatIOn of attendance credIts, however, the Board found that "there
IS no room for deemmg, even notIOnally, that the employee worked on such a
day" There can be no ratIOnal baSIS for treatmg scheduled hours not worked
(and not paId for) due to lateness more favourably than scheduled hours not
worked (and not paId for) due to Illness The employer's preparedness to treat
hours not worked but paId for as though worked, through applIcatIOn of atten-
dance credIts or holIday pay, as though they were hours worked for purposes of
ArtIcle 18 1(b) does not gIve nse to an oblIgatIOn to SImIlarly treat hours that
were neIther worked nor paId for as though worked.
[27] Concermng scheduled days (and hours) that the gnevor dId not work due
to Illness (and for whIch he was not paId) m 1990 and 1991, the umon says that
they should be treated as havmg been worked for purposes of ArtIcle 18 1(b) be-
cause, It alleges, the gnevor was entitled to attendance credIts that ought to
have been applIed to them. ThIS IS m substance a complamt about the employer's
alleged faIlure to gIve attendance credIts That was the substance of the gnev
"
14
ance that the umon filed m May 1992, seekmg retroactIve compensatIOn for em-
ployees for whom the employer's alleged non-complIance wIth ArtIcle 38 1 had
resulted m demal of SIck leave credIts The grIevance was settled on terms that
dId not reqUIre the employer to make any adjustment for any alleged faIlure to
grant attendance credIts prIor to AprIl 1, 1992 In the absence of eVIdence that
from the outset the umon expressly lImIted Its claIm for retrospectIve relIef m
that grIevance to a partIcular tIme perIod, the necessary ImplIcatIOn of that set-
tlement was that the umon agreed that the employer would not be oblIged to
make any adjustment for alleged faIlure to grant attendance credIts durmg any
perIod prIOr to AprIl 1, 1992 Such a settlement IS ordmarIly bmdmg on employ-
ees, and nothmg m thIS settlement suggests a shared mtentIOn that It not be
bmdmg on employees Accordmgly, the settlement IS a bar to a claIm by the
grIevor to adjustment of hIS contmuous servIce date as a remedy for the em-
ployer's alleged faIlure to grant attendance credIts m 1990 and 1991, and that
claIm must be dIsmIssed
[28] The remammg Issue IS whether, m assessmg whIch weeks were "full-tIme
weeks worked," the employer properly excluded dlstmct 8 hour shIfts when they
were paId for at the overtIme rate I am not called upon to determme whether
the employer correctly mterpreted the 1987 settlement referred to m paragraph
[4] above when It applIed It m the manner described m paragraph [6], nor
whether the 1987 settlement remamed m force after the next collectIve agree-
ment came mto effect m 1989, nor whether what the employer dId m 1990 and
1991, as described m paragraph [6], was consIstent WIth ArtIcle 3 4 of the collec-
tIve agreement then m effect. The Issue IS sImply whether the employer's havmg
paId for certam hours at "overtIme" rates meant that those hours could not count
m determmmg whether an employee had worked a "full tIme" week, or sIgmfied
that the employee was not a "full-tIme unclaSSIfied employee" engaged m "full-
tIme employment" durmg that week. Smce the facts mdlcate that the employer
dId not exclude shIfts on that baSIS untIl after the Board's deCISIOn m Scott et al.,
It IS Important to look at what was addressed m that deCISIOn.
15 -
[29] In Scott et al, I consIdered several questIOns concermng the Interpreta-
tion and applIcatIOn of the language of clause (b) of ArtIcle 18 1 One was
whether, as the employer argued, the phrases "worked by a full-time unclassIfied
employee" and "durIng hIS full time employment" qualIfied "full time weeks" In
such a way that "full-time weeks" were not to be credIted unless the employee
worked them durIng the term of an unclasSIfied employment contract that eIther
4
expressly prOVIded for full-time employment or was a de facto full-tIme contract
because the employee had actually worked full-time hours In each and every
week of the term of the contract.
[30] The umon argued In Scott et ai. that the qualIficatIOn Introduced by the
added "full-time" references was that the hours saId to make up a "full-tIme
week" must have been treated Just as the hours worked by a full time employee
would have been as regards entitlement to an overtIme premIUm. ThIS qualIfica-
tion would exclude "weeks worked under a contract whIch prOVIded that the em-
ployee would be regularly scheduled to work part time hours and would be paid
an overtIme premIUm for hours worked In excess of those part time hours" (Scott,
supra, p 9) HavIng regard to clause (c) of ArtIcle 3 4 (quoted In paragraph [5]
above), someone whose unclaSSIfied contract prOVIded for a regular schedule of a
speCIfic number of hours per day or per week that was less than full-tIme hours
would be entItled to overtIme pay WIth respect to any hours worked In the week
In excess of the stipulated number, even If he or she worked no more than 8 (or
7Y4) hours per day or 40 (or 36Y4) hours per week. There IS reference to such a
contract at page 13 of the Scott et al deCISIOn, In the deScflptIOn of the CIrcum-
stances of gflevor Mark Best.
[31] For reasons set out at pages 18 to 21 of the Scott et al deCISIOn, I adopted
the InterpretatIOn proposed by the umon. I expressed the result tills way (at
page 22)
An employee need not have been workmg pursuant to an express or de facto
"full tune" unclassIfied contract m order to claun credIt for a full tune week"
worked, but hours for whICh an overtIme premIUm was payable do not count
m determmmg whether the hours worked by the employee m a week made It
a "full tune week."
16 -
The Issue now before me IS essentially whether that caveat concermng hours for
wluch an overtime premlUm IS payable was stated too broadly I thmk It was
[32] In P~tfield, the Board observed that the aIm of the pre-1992 verSlOn of Ar-
ticle 25 1(b) was "to equate full time employment m the unclassIfied servIce WIth
the regular hours of work of a classIfied employee m order to determme length of
contmuous ~ervlce" In Parent the Board spoke of employees bemg " credIted
for the unbroken penod of servIce that essentially matched a full-time commIt
ment ". The same thmgs can be saId about ArtIcle 18 1(b), even though ItS
language IS somewhat dIfferent from the language consIdered m the P~tfield and
Parent declslOns It would seem odd If someone who worked the regular number
of hours of a full tIme, classIfied employee m a week, on a schedule that the em
ployer could have Imposed on such an employee, was not regarded as havmg
worked a "full time" week for purposes of ArtIcle 18 1(b)
[33] The hypothetIcal work schedule set out m paragraph [6] of thIS declslOn
certamly looks lIke a "full-time commItment." When I asked the partIes whether
a full time employee assIgned those hours could faIrly complam that they dId not
satisfy hIS or her enhtlement to (or, at least, expectatlOn of) 40 regular hours of
work, It was no suggested that he or she could. My attentlOn was drawn to what
now appears as ArtIcle 5.2 m each of the mdlvldual bargammg umt agreements.
5 2 Every reasonable effort shall be made to aVOId scheduhng the
commencement of a shut wIthm twelve (12) hours of the completIOn of the
employee s prevIOUS shut provIded however that u an employee IS
reqUIred to work before twelve (12) hours have elapsed he shall be paid
tune and one-half (1 Y2) for those hours that fall wIthm the twelve (12)
hour penod. It IS understood that the term "shut" does not mclude any
penod of tIme m respect of whIch all employee IS entItled to overtune
payments or compensatmg leave m accordance WIth Article 13 (OvertIme)
or Article 14 (Call Back)
It IS clear that the regular hours of a full-time claSSIfied employee do not have to
be scheduled m such a way that each shIft begms at least 24 hours after the be-
gmnmg of the prevlOUS shIft. The fact that a shIft attracts a shIft premlUm under
ArtIcle 5.2 because of the way It IS scheduled m relatlOn to other shIfts does not
17
make the shIft any less a part of the basIc "full-tIme" week of a "full tIme" em-
ployee engaged m "full-tIme" employment.
[34] It seems to me that that lOgIC bears extenSIOn to the assessment of what
wIll constItute a "full tIme week" for purposes of ArtIcle 18 1(b) The answer
should not depend on whether some of the hours worked attracted a shIft pre-
mIUm, nor should It matter what label IS used to describe the premIUm. The ap
proprIate questIOn IS whether durmg the week m Issue the employee worked the
number of hours assocIated wIth full-tIme employment m the eqUIvalent clasSIfi-
catIon m the CIvIl servIce, on a schedule that could have been assIgned to a full-
tIme clasSIfied employee and would have satIsfied whatever entItlement that
employee had to a certam number of "regular" hours per week. If so, then the
employee worked a "full tIme" week for purposes of ArtIcle 18 1(b) GIven the
facts that have emerged m the case now before me, I cannot say that hours that
are "regular" for the purpose of thIS test WIll never be hours that the partIes re-
gard as "overtIme" hours for the purpose of determmmg the approprIate rate of
pay for workmg them.
[35] In Scott et al the umon mtrod uced the Issue of overtIme hours mto the
debate about the meamng of the words "worked by a full-tIme unclassIfied em
ployee durmg hIS full-tIme employment," as a means of demonstratmg how those
words could have meamng WIthout theIr reqUIrmg employment on an express or
de facto full-tIme contract. At Issue was how those words could have any other
effect not already prOVIded by the words "full-tIme weeks" whIch, as both partIes
agreed, already tested whether the number of hours actually worked m a week
was at least equal to the number of hours assocIated WIth full-tIme employment
m the eqUIvalent clasSIficatIOn m the CIVIl servIce
[36] As the umon's argument m Scott et al noted, some unclassIfied employees
were employed on contracts that expressly prOVIded that they would work a fixed
number of regular hours each week. Where that fixed number was the number of
hours assocIated WIth full tIme employment m the eqUIvalent claSSIficatIOn m
the CIVIl servIce, the employee was a "full tIme employee" engaged m "full-tIme
- 18 -
employment" pursuant to what the employer referred to m Scott et al as an "ex-
press" full-time contract. If that fixed number of regular hours was less than the
number of hours assocIated with full-time employment In the equIvalent classIfi-
catIOn m the cIvIl servIce, however, then the employee was clearly a part-time
employee engaged m part-time employment pursuant to an expressly part-time
contract. That employment would arguably retam that character even If by
.
workmg "overtIme" the employee worked the numenc eqUIvalent of full-time
hours
[37] The umon's argument m Scott et al also noted that the dIfference between
employment on an expressly part-time basIs and employment as a so-called
"part-time" or "casual" employee on a contract that speCIfied that hours of work
are "Irregular" or "up to 40" was that the latter was treated lIke a full tIme em
ployee for purposes of ArtIcle 34 (OvertIme) By contrast, someone employed on
a contract that expressly prOVIded for a regular work week of, say, 20 hours per
week would be entitled under ArtIcle 3 4(c) to payment at overtIme rates for all
hours worked m excess of 20 In any week. Someone thus employed on an ex
pressly part-time baSIS could not be a "full tIme unclassIfied employee" engaged
m "full-time employment" despIte workmg the numenc eqUIvalent of full-time
hours Also, someone so employed could not work the numenc eqUIvalent of full-
time hours WIthout bemg paId for some of them at the overtIme rate pursuant to
ArtIcle 3 4( c)
[38] In Scott et al I accepted that the effect of addmg the words "worked by a
full-tIme unclassIfied employee durmg hIS full-time employment" to "full-time
weeks" m ArtIcle 18 1(b) was to exclude someone employed on an expressly part
time baSIS even when the number of hours that the employee worked m a week
was the numenc eqUIvalent of full-time hours Someone so employed could not
work the numenc eqUIvalent of full tIme hours WIthout bemg paId for some of
them at the overtIme rate pursuant to Article 3 4(c) It was not apparent to me at
the time of the Scott et al deCISIOn that somethmg resemblmg a 40 hour, five by
8 week of a full-time employee could attract an overtIme premIUm under any
19
other part of ArtIcle 3 4 when worked by an unclassIfied employee on an "up to
40 hours" contract, nor was I aware of any specIal agreement that mIght have
had that effect. Accordmgly, m describmg the result It seemed sensible to com-
bme the "full tIme weeks worked" test - whIch focused on the number of hours
worked - and the "by a full-tIme unclassIfied employee durmg hIS full-tIme em-
ployment" test - wruch focused on the nature of the employment and excluded
those whose"employment contracts provIded for a regular work schedule of fewer
than full-tIme hours - mto a smgle test that SImply excluded from consIderatIOn
hours paId for at overtIme rates It seemed that such a test would have the same
effect as the two dIstmct tests I mtended It to reflect.
[39] The questIOn now before me here - whether dIstmct 8 hour shIfts worked
under an "up to 40 hours" unclassIfied contract are properly excluded m assess-
mg "full-tIme weeks worked" when they were paId for at an "overtIme" rate due
to theIr temporal prOXImIty to other shIfts worked - was not before me m Scott
et al It does not appear to have been before the Board m Morton, supra, eIther
The facts that gIve rIse to the questIOn here demonstrate that the test artICU-
lated m Scott et al and quoted at paragraph [31] above may not always have the
same result as the two dIstmct tests for whIch I had thought It would be, and
had mtended It to be, the functIOnal eqUIvalent. In retrospect, a test based on
whether or not hours were paId for at "overtIme" rates may not YIeld the correct
result outSIde the context m whIch It was artIculated m Scott et al It appears
that to properly apply ArtIcle 18 1(b) It IS necessary to keep separate the two dIS-
tmct tests to whIch I have referred.
[40] For purposes of ArtIcle 18 1(b), then, a "full-tIme week worked" by an un-
claSSIfied employee IS a week m whIch the employee "worked" (m the expanded
sense the employer's practIces may be found to have gIven that word) at least the
number of hours assocIated WIth full-tIme employment m the eqUIvalent claSSIfi-
catIon m the CIVIl servIce, accordmg to the relevant schedule to the Publ~c Serv-
~ce Act If the schedule on whIch the hours were worked plays any part m the ap
plIcatIOn of ArtIcle 18 1(b), the relevant Issue IS SImply whether the schedule was
20
one whIch could have been assIgned to a full-tIme employee m the equIvalent
classIficatIOn m the CIvIl servIce WIthout ObjectIOn that It faIled to satIsfy that
employee's entItlement to or expectatIOn of the prescribed number of "regular"
hours per week. It does not appear that there could be a valId complamt of that
sort m any of the mstances m Issue here
[41] The second of the two tests to whIch I have referred here IS the one pro-
VIded by the words "worked by a full-tIme unclassIfied employee durmg hIS full-
tIme employment." As I have saId, thIS operates to exclude "full-tIme weeks"
worked by someone employed on a contract that prOVIded for a fixed number of
regular hours of work that IS less than the number of hours of work assocIated
WIth full-tIme employment m the eqUIvalent claSSIficatIOn m the CIVIl servIce
That IS not the case here
[42] Accordmgly, the dIsputed weeks m whIch the gflevor worked five dlstmct
8 hours shIfts - the pay perIOds begmnmg July 20, July 27, September 14, and
September 21, 1990 - should be treated as "full tIme weeks worked" m calcu
latmg the gflevor's contmuous servIce date under ArtIcle 18 1 The gflevor IS not
entItled to credIt, however, for the other weeks m Issue, m whICh hIS hours
worked fell short of 40 because of lateness or absence due to Illness m respect of
whIch no attendance credIts were applIed. The gflevor's claIm that he should
now be retroactIvely granted those credIts IS dIsmIssed as barred by the settle-
ment of the earlIer umon gflevance on the same subject.
[43] I remam seIsed WIth any Issues aflsmg out of these gflevances whIch are
not resolved by these findmgs
Dated at Toronto thIS 23rd day of October, 1998