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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1985-0583.Garofalo et al.87-03-02 Decision180 Dundas STREET WEST. TORONTO. ONTARIO. M5G 1Z8 -SUITE 2100 Be tween: Before: TELEPHONE: 416/598- 0688 IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION Under THE CROWN EMPLOYEES COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ACT Before THE GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT BOARD OPSEU (R. Garofalo, R. Marson, J. Vognic, J. Adams and D. Schultz) and THE CROWN IN RIGHT OF ONTARIO (Ministry of Community and Social Services) Prof. R. J. Roberts, Vice-chairman I. Freedman, Member A. G. Stapleton, Member For the Grievor: T. Hadwcn, Counsc 1, Cavalluzzo, Hayes & Lennon Barristers and Solicitors For the Employer: C. Slater, Solicitor, Legal Services Branch Ministry of Community and Social Services Grievors Employer Hear ines: July 31, 1986 August 5, 1986 DECISION 2. This is a classification case. The grievors, who were in the classification of Clerical Stenographer 3, claimed the higher classification of Clerical Stenographer 4. which follow, it is concluded that the grievors were properly For reasons classified at the level of Clerical Stenographer 3; however, by virtue of certain additional responsibilities which were placed upon the grievors during the implementation of new systems relating to the Young Offenders Act, they temporarily were required to perform work at the Clerk Stenographer 4 level. By agreement, the parties combined five grievances for determination in the present proceeding. it was agreed that the evidence of one of the grievors, Ms. D. Schultz, would be taken as representative of the duties and responsibilities of the others. Ms. Schultz testified that she was employed at the Etobicoke Branch of the Young Offenders Probation Office. This office was supervised by Mr. R. Partridge, and its complement of employees included five Probation Officers, four other staff who dealt with certain special programs, and two Clerk Stenographers. In addition, Ms. Schultz testified that generally, her job involved providing stenographic and typing services for the Probation Officers and her Supervisor, reception duties. Ms. Schultz explained that when new cases and performing clerical and 3. for them. This involved recording information in a number of documents, including a Record of Supervision, a Probation Officer's report, the Case Register belonging to the Probation Officer responsible for the new client, and the Case Analysis List. In addition, she explained, it was up to her and her co-worker to update these sets of documents if the client went back to court, transferred out of town or the file was terminated. Ms. Schultz also stated that at the end of each month she was required to prepare a Workload Analysis. This required, obtaining information from her Supervisor, the Case Registers for all of the Probation Officers, and other employees who were responsible for co-ordinating other programs Once she obtained this information, the grievor explained, she performed certain calculations and then the analysis went to her Supervisor for signature. Another document that the grievor testified she produced was a monthly report called the Foster Spread. This was a document which indicated which clients were in a foster or group home, how many days they were there and what the per diem charge was. The grievor stated that it was necessary to check her work carefully to ensure that all charge-backs had been made. A charge-back, she explained, involved transferring of the cost of care to the budget of another office if the latter was responsible for the custody. etc. of the client. Once 4. entire package was sent to her Supervisor, Mr. Partridge, for signature. She added that it was not the easiest job to do. The grievor also testified that at the time of the grievance she was responsible for the petty cash fund of !the office. This was a sum which ranged from $100.00 to $150.00 and was used to cover expenditures for sundry office supplies, bus tickets and subway tokens. The grievor stated that she submitted receipts for these expenditures to an Administrative Clerk who worked out of another office and the latter would make out a cheque. Ms. Schultz stated that she then would cash the cheque and put the money back into the fund. All transactions, she added, were recorded on a ledger which she maintained. The grievor also stated that she had other respbnsibilities with respect to cash. Some Officers, she explained, worked on weekends and were required to make expenditures for which regular funds would not be available. These were taken out of a separate petty cash fund, and when the Officers gave the grievor the receipts, she would obtain reimbursement from the Administrative Clerk as previously explained. Ms. Schultz added that she also was responsible for I 5. made regarding their clients, and in addition had to verify I invoices for photocopies, long distance telephone calls and any publications ordered by the Supervisor. i I sible for Ms. Schultz went on to say that she was respon control of the inventory in the office. She stated that a purchase was made, it was up to her to tag the item, i it and notify the persons in charge of controlling ass Every six months, Ms. Schultz explained, the office rece an updated list of assets in the office. It was up to h check everything against this list and then present it t Supervisor for signature. Ms. Schultz also testified to her responsibili in training temporary and new staff. She stated that it left up to her and her fellow Clerk Stenographer to show employees what to do, including training them in setting up for typing, and responding to telephone inquiries. M stated that she was assisted by temporary help quite oft always was left on her own to train and instruct them. added that on two or three occasions, she was asked by he visor to advise him whether she thought that the temporary employee ought to be kept or, perhaps, replaced with ano from the same agency. Ms. Schultz further testified tha same held true with respect to new permanent staff, that was left up to her to train the new employee. The sole if entify its ved r to her ies is temporary documents Schultz n and he Super- her the it nput 6. of her Supervisor, she stated, consisted of the occasiona inquiry into how things were going. Ms. Schultz stated that about 45% of her time w spent in typing. This included typing letters, memos, re for her Supervisor and pre-disposition reports for Probat Officers. The latter, she explained, was a written repor the Officer for the information of court. With respect to the receptionist services that provided, Ms. Schultz stated that she acted as a receptio: for clients coming in to report to their Probation Office. She remarked that while there were not too many problems w S orts on from he ist s i th them, they could get noisy if they were kept waiting too ong. If they happened to have brought friends with them, she said the situation could turn into a party with portable radio so sometimes it was necessary to ask the friends to leave. In her capacity as receptionist, the grievor added, she also received telephone calls from parents, clients, agencies, and other Probation Officers. Occasionally, there would be c lls from the police asking if a certain person was on probati n. In those circumstances, the grievor stated, she would check and call back with a yes or no answer but would not give out l i any further information over the telephone. Social she stated, also called wanting information job to make sure that the right person got the message. did not give out any information over the telephone other to confirm to the police that a particular child was on She than pro- 8. One of the problems that she faced, Ms. Schultz t fied, was in figuring out how to code the input for the com ized Young Offenders Act system. The manual that she was initially provided was of little assistance. Moreover, muc of the information that she was expected to place on the ne forms was unavailable because the source documents that she had to use were improperly filled out. She stated that add information as to the nature of the offence and the section number of the Young Offenders Act, would be missing or inco She had to keep sending the forms back. It took a full yea Ms. Schultz stated, before things got straightened out. Moreover, Ms. Schultz said, when the Young Offen Act came into force it became necessary to re-register all on a computerized tracking system called the Child Advocacy Information System (CAIS). According to the witness, this w required six months into the Young Offenders Act. Ms. Schul stated that she and her co-worker questioned it but were tol that it had to be done. Ms. Schultz further testified that after the Young Offenders Act was implemented, the forms that she filled out to open files were sent off to the computer centre. The You Offenders Act people would then give the forms back, marked right or wrong, along with a computerized sheet. She stated ti- ter- sses, ect. ers ients ; ! 9. knew what to do with them. a filing cabinet. file them alphabetically and place in the file of each client when it was terminated. In addition, they were instructed to check the form for correctness because if it was incorrect, Initially, they were piled up in Later, she and her co-worker were told to it would not correlate on the computer in future transactions. These instructions, Ms. Schultz stated, were not given until a year after the office started to receive the documents. I Then, in April 1986, Ms. Schultz stated, management asked her and her co-worker to check to be sure that the Master Client Information Cards (CIC's) in the office matched up with ,these computer sheets. get that straightened around. It took a few months, she stated, to The sole witness to testify on behalf of the Mini try was Mr. R. Partridge, the Supervisor of Probation and Commu ity Services at the Etobicoke Office. He stated that his offic provided all services to young offenders ordered by the court in Etobicoke. To qualify, he added, the clients must have committed their offences between their 12th and 16th birthdays. P I He stated that the court provided the office with the type of order that the young person must comply with, and his Officers in turn served the clients and their families with counsell ng, i etc. directed toward keeping young offenders out of the court preceeded the grievance. In this document, he attempted to describe the job held by Ms. Schultz and the other Clerk in the Office. This description was as follows: CLERICAL STENOGRAPHER typing and proof-reading for accuracy, reports and other doc ents (eg. Pre-Disposition Reports, court documents, and reports r lated to probationers, youth in custody and training school wards ; d stributing as required; i photocopying as required. 2. Provides clerical and reception services by performing such asks as:- Steno Under general supervision to provide reception, clerical, typing services to Probation Officers, supervising Probation Off probation programs (eg. Volunteers, Community Service and prject D.A.R.E. and other programs) in the Etobicoke Probation stenographic and lcer, and Compersation, and Community 1. Provides stenographic and typing services by performing such taking dictation by shorthand and dlctaphone, and transcribing variety of correspondence, reports, and other materials; composing and typing routine letters from verbal or written tasks as by typing a instructions answering telephone; receiving visitors and clients; providi information arranging appointments, as requested by staff members; making directed, to give or obtain information; recording and checklng all long distance calls made in the opening sorting date stamping and reading, as required, attaching previous correspondence and files to incoming mail ---L mat ng general calls, as olfice: incoming mail; and tters to the 11. setting new CJSCS which includes: recording intake; completing and distributing, as required client information card; completing forms fo provincial tracking and YOA systems; completing and typing record of supervision sheet, case register, case analysis form, facesheet for fie notebook and other documents as required ensuring all documents are accord ng to establ ished procedure preparing and typing travel expense claims; obtaining, from case register, current active caseload by category (ie. custody, wardship, probation, male, female) and completing monthly statistical report; keeping files current by monitoring reports due and filing material, as required; looking up files and correspondence, as required; updating client information cards ; coding forms for input to YOA Interim Statistical System by obtaining da from YOA Interim System User‘s Manual, court orders, client information existing files; checking computer printouts for accuracy; correcting discrepancies; receiving Personal Attendance Register from staff members; preparing and forwarding monthly attendance records to Accounts Branch; checking quarte Attendance Credit Report for accuracy; correcting discrepancies; completing and forwarding time sheets for unclassified staff to Accounts checking inventory level of office supplies, typing requisitions to reple stock and submitting to Supervisor for approval; confirming receipt of supplies upon delivery; receiving receipts from staff members for local purchases made; reimbursi staff members from petty cash account; submitting receipts to Administrat Services Clerk in order to replenish petty cash fund; maintaining in-house I informat ion I i ling and YOA records destruction syste completing monthly Foster Home Report by obtaining basic data i.e. name o youth, file number, where placed, etc.) on placements from Probation Offic entering information on Foster Home Report and submitting to Supervisor fo approval :i1 rd Y anch; sh s s rs 5% 3. Performs other auxiliary dutles such as:- providing training and assistance to new clerk steno and temporary clerical staff, as required; as assigned. and organizational skills. Initiative. Tact. Good judgement. Aptitude figures. with the Juvenile Justice System. willingness to learn terminology and general procedures associated Skills and Knowledge: Successful completion of Civil Service Commission typing, shorthand and dictaphone tests. Demonstrated abilitiy to compose correspondence, deal effectively with me of the public, and work with minimum of supervrslon. Good communication Several years clerical, stenographic and typlng experie for ce rs the foregoing document constituted his attempt to describe grievor’s job. He agreed that in order to do this job an employee needed the ability to deal with the public work with a minimum of supervision. He stated that the must have good communication and organizational skills, have a degree of initiative. he stated, to deal with fellow employees, the Supervisor An employee also needed the properly, and to employee and tact and Upon cross-examination, Mr. Partridge agreed t at in terms of what to tell the public and what to refer to person, etc. Part of this exercise, he stated, would be what for 13 the judge's order, the endorsement, consent forms, and i form which would provide additional information on the family. Mr. Partridge stated that he reviewed all of th documents to ensure that they were accurate with no mist He also would ensure that the order was legal and then h decide which Probation Officer should be responsible for the client. Once he made this decision, he stated, he w pass the package on to the Clerk Stenographer, Her resp something. Mr. Partridge also agreed that an employee received the Case Analysis form at the end of each month responsible for its completeness. He said that the vast of information upon that form would have come from the Information Cards, with additional information from other such as "face" sheets or verbal advice from a Probation the job of Clerk Stenographer should have an aptitude f were majority Client sources Officer. figures. olding r Mr. as fills hed he intake lient Is ese akes e would supervising ould onsibility, place As to the monthly forms that the grievor had o fill who out, Mr. Partridge stated that the Probation Officers, A 4. Upon cross-examination, Mr. Partridge agreed that some C1 ent Information Cards would have gaps in the information tha to be filled in. These gaps could include, he said, ide of the offences committed, number of counts, whether the was a summary conviction or indictable offence or the and end dates of the probationary period. As to the lat he said, the Clerk Stenogragher would know it from the Pr Order which was included with the documents. Again, how he conceded that sometimes the order did not clearly ind the start and termination dates for probation, and accor had to be interpreted. He also agreed that on occasion come to the attention of the Clerk Stenographer that a P Officer had been assigned to a youth who was not in the served by the Office. When this occurred, he stated, th Stenographers brought this to his attention. As to the "face" sheets used by Probation Offi Mr. Partridge stated that the information on them came fro the Client Information Card and the Probation Order. Th primarily comprise information about the "family constel of the client. He agreed that a lot of this information not available on the Client Information Card but had to be gathered by the Clerk Stenographers from the court intake documents. A 15 Foster Spread, Mr. Partridge stated that this was a mo report authorizing payment for any placements for which Office was responsible. He stated that the Clerk Steno would send each Probation Officer the previous month's and request them to update it with any changes. Upon r of these updated forms, the Clerk Stenographer would co them and give the document to him. He then would go it to be sure that all clients were included and that t were correct. This was important, he stated, because t were worth a considerable amount of money each month. at the Upon cross-examination, Mr. Partridge indicat ime of the grievance the Clerk Stenographers mi possessed much more responsibility with respect to the spread. He stated that currently, he examined it much I closely. This was because certain mistakes which had be by Probation Officers were brought to his attention by t Stenographers and these mistakes created expensive prob He said that this was an example of initiative and good ment exercised by the Clerk Stenographers. A lot of stu he said, had been left out of the rough material by the Officers. Mr. Partridge also indicated that the Foster s was the source document for something called the QAB for thly his rapher eport ceipt bine trough e payments e payments d that ht have ster ore n make e Clerk ms. udg- f, roba ti on read He said that he had worked together with the grievors o It was always a task, he stated, to make sure it was co It took a lot of care and a lot of attention to detail, Turning to Ms. Schultz' financial responsibilities Partridge indicated that it was necessary for him to di Ms. Schultz to buy items out of petty cash and that whe Administrative Clerk issued a cheque to reimburse the p cash fund, it went to him and then he gave it to Ms. Sc As to the monitoring of attendance, Mr. Partr testified that the Probation Officers filled out attend forms which went to him. It was up to him to check the investigate discrepancies. It was only then, he stated the Attendance Forms would go back to Ms. Schultz for p of payroll. Ms. Schultz, he said, was responsible for o attendance forms from contract employees and sending cu to him so that he could sign them and have them submitte payroll. Ms. Schultz, he agreed, was responsible for al assets and supplies in the office. She was responsible, stated, to monitor the supplies and re-order when necess filling out the appropriate forms for him to sign. It a to Ms. Schultz, he stated, to check to ensure that the C 16. it. rect. Mr. ect the tty ultz ge n ce and that rposes obtaining f orms to moveable he ry so was up fice 17. Mr. Partridge also agreed that the Clerk Stenog were given wide responsibility to train new and temporary He stated that the Clerk Stenographers provided all of th in office procedures. His participation, he stated, was to asking if they had further questions and providing the a broader picture of the function of the Office, e.g., ta them to court, telling them what group homes were in the nature of the service which was provided by the Office. emphasized that the Clerk Stenographers functioned as the end" of the system. Mr. Partridge stated that when the grievances i proceeding were filed the amount of change that was going in the Office was "incredible". There were changes in te and the old procedures manual became obsolete. He added, all had to wrestle with it". :It was not so much that the changed, Mr. Partridge stated, it was that the terminolog did. For all of March and April of 1985, he said, the only in the Office with any training in the new system was Ms. By the end of April he and the other Clerk Stenographer h received training. Mr. Partridge stated that the Young Offenders A forms were totally new forms. Previously, there had been which had required similar information, but the format wa totally new There had been nothing like that before. H aphers staff. training limited with ing recise e front- this on minology 'we system me Schultz. d :orms said that it was left up to the Clerk Stenographers to a case, once it was opened, on the Young Offenders Act The registration and discussion of whatever information needed, he said, was largely done on their own. The sa true with correcting errors, etc. 18. nter 'stern. as was Mr. Partridge added that until early 1986, his did not do anything with respect to discrepancies betwee printouts and the gaster forms in the Office. He stated the Clerk Stenographers would do a bit of detective work garding errors, e.g., by calling the Input Clerk and why, but that the Office did not use the computerized very much. He emphasized, though, that the tracking down such errors was definitely the responsibility of the Cler Stenographers. The class standard for Clerical Stenographer 3 r as follows: Clerical stenographer 3 This class covers positions of employees who take dictation in shorthand or speed-writing ard/or dictaphone and transcribe letters, memoranda reports and other material and perform varied sed-routine clerical tasks according to approved procedures or special instructions. They are responsible for Mependent completion of somewhat complex cleri work performed according to established precedents involving contact with other departments or the public through correspondence composed themselves. They are, however, required to refer doubtful matters not covered by precedents to their superiors. In some positions, they train and supervise a small subordinate staff in routine clerical, stenographic and typing duties. much of the work of employees in these positions is reviewed only periodically principally for adherence to' policy and procedures Errors f ads L They prepare reports, simple statements and memoranda' requiring judgement in the selection and presentation of data'. responsible for following up errors or ommissions review and verify a variety of documents to ensure conformity with established regulations and practices In other positions,' they periodically summarize and balance entries to original records, investigating discrepancies and making needed Corrections. They, being skills and KNOWLEDGE: Initiative in organizing and completing work assignments; good knowledge of statutes and regulations pertaining to work assignments; ability to direct the work of others It can be seen that positions falling within this class E require the exercise of little in the way of independ judgment. Responsibilities are Carried out according to established precedents with doubtful matters not covered precedents, referred to supervisors. The class standard for Clerical Stenographer 4 as follows: clerical STENOGRAPHER 4 This class covers positions of employees who take dictation in shorthand or speed-writing, and/or dictaohone, but are mainly involved in the performance of various clerical or administrative tasks of a responsible nature requiring considerable knowledge of the operations and procedures of the organizational unit. They make decisions which entail the exercise of some independent judgement based on a good understanding of specific statutes and regulations These employees initiate correspondence concerning their work and may interpret the general instructions of their superiors into detailed procedures to be followed. Although they refer questions involving interpretation of policy to their superiors, these employees normally receive specific instruction only in unusual or special problems. Host of the work is performed under conditions which permit little opportunity for direct supervision by othe 19. andard nt Y eads 20. Good knowledge of statutes and regulations related to the work ability to supervise the work of subordinates; good knowledge of o methods and procedures. In other cases, employees in these positions prepare or evalua assess and correct a variety of statements, applications, records material by checking for completeness, and conformity with specific statutes, rules. regulations, administrative orders and practices. may authorize adjustments, determine eligibility and make recommen regarding the financial payment or other appropriate action Disc of errors in their work would lead to the embarrassment of superior could result in monetary loss. Positions falling within this standard allow for the exer dent standards on ) :s. of some independent judgment. The power to make indepen work decisions is reserved to those in the higher class for Clerical Stenographer 5. Comparing these two class standards in Re: Hil and Ministry of Education (1985), G.S.B. #535/84 (Robert this Board said: Further, there appear to be three ... distinctive characteristics of the job duties assigned to ... [the Clerical Stenographer 31 classification. The Clerical tasks are semi-routine in nature and performed according to approved pro- cedures or special .instructions. The decisions that the employee is required to make are made according to established precedents. As to correspondence, these employees do not initiate it; rather they only compose it in preparing responses to initiatives of others. ... [The classification of Clerical Stenographer 41 also appears to be possessed of three distinctive characteristi nd They ations very and fice cise 21. independent judgment is permitted to be exercised in making decisions. As to correspondence, employees have authority to initiate matters not simply respond to initiatives of others. Comparison of these two class standards leads the conclusion that. the difference between is marked by two essential characteristics. the shift from class 3 to 4 is accompanied by progressively declining emphasis upon dicta- typing skills. Secondly, the shift also is marked by a progressive increase in the degree of independent authority or responsibility by the employee. Id. at pp. 11-13. Firs':, By far the most significant of these shifts would seem to the progressive increase in degree of independent authority the employee. In this regard see Re Sullivan and Ministry Correctional Services (1984), G.S.B. 261/84 (Verity), at these and to i. exercised be permitted of p. As required by the classification, the grievors provided clerical and stenographic services and performed fell upon the shoulders of the grievors in the period of which followed the introduction of the Young Offenders Act its corresponding system, we must conclude that the grievors were properly classified in the classification of Clerical Stenographer 3. In fact, it might be said that this cation was almost "tailor-made" for the positions occupied confusion and classifi- by telephone calls, dealing with the mail, setting up new fil preparing and typing travel expense claims. They performed as called for by the class standard, somewhat complex cler work, including preparation of the Foster Spread and the Q form. The grievors also, as set forth in the class stand; trained new staff and temporary help in routine clerical i other duties. There was no indication, however, that apart frc the period of disruption which followed the introduction C the Young Of fenders Act, the grievors were required to mak any decisions entailing the exercise of "some independent as called for in the class standard for Clerical Stenograp 4. The evidence indicated that: all the functions perfermed by the grievors were covered by established procedures and doubtful matters were referred to their supervisors. So, for example, it was not Ms. Schultz who deci whether a temporary employee ought to be retained; it was Supervisor, Mr. Partridge. Similarily with respect to Ms Schultz' receptionist duties, there seemed to be little in way of independent judgment to be exercised in determining officer would be the right one to get the message or what of response to give someone who called to enquire about a client. It must be concluded by the Board that there simp es and d ical AB rd , id n E judgement “ her d that ded her the which ind ertain Y a As to the period of disruption which followed introduction of the Young Offenders Act, in early April, the Board is led to a different conclusion. We find that time, the grievors were thrust into a situation which them to make the kind of decisions called for by the class standard for Clerical Stenographer 4. The grievors, to Mr. Partridge, had to "wrestle with" complete changes terminology and procedures. The forms for registering a were totally new. It was up to the Clerk Stenographers, largely on their own, to interpret and register the which was called for. They had to follow up on their own performing as Mr. Partridge stated, their own detective There were no precedents to refer to and, it seems from evidence, it would have been pointless to attempt to refer matters to their superiors. There is no doubt that in with this situation, the grievors were performing work at Clerical Stenographer 4 level. I the exercise of some independent judgment." Accordingly the 1985, at that required according in case working information errors, work the doubtful dealing the we find that they were properly classified at the level f Clerical Stenographer 3. I for about one year but on this point, the Board does not have h DATED at London, Ontario, this 2nd day of March Accordingly, our award must be that during the of the disruption, which commenced in April, 1985, the gr were performing work at the level of Clerical Stenographer The grievors will each have a claim for the difference in which they would have received if they had been paid at t level. They will not, however, be entitled to claim retro activity to the date of implementation of the Young Offend Act. As is usually the case, retroactivity will be limit the time limits for filing grievances which are set forth Article 27 of the Collective Agreement. The matter is remitted to the parties for purpo of allowing them to investigate and agree upon the amount compensation due to each grievor. The Board will remain s of the matter pending this determination. Of course the g will be entitled to interest calculated according to the u formula applied by this Board. 1987. I. Freedman, Member 4. eriod evors 4. wage .s ers d by in es f ized ievors ua 1