Although a temporary employee had no termination protection under the collective agreement, he did have the right to advance a reprisal / retaliation claim under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, a labour arbitrator has ruled.
Two months after starting, the employee filed a harassment / bullying complaint. His employment was terminated three months later for having made threats of violence.
The arbitrator held that temporary employees had no protection, under the collective agreement, from termination of employment or harassment. In fact, the union could not rely on any of the provisions of the collective agreement to advance the employee's claim.
The arbitrator decided, however, that he had authority to decide whether the employer had violated section 50 (retaliation for raising safety issues) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Although the arbitrator stated that, "Apart from section 50, nothing in the OHSA makes employers answerable for workplace harassment", here the arbitrator had authority to determine whether the employee had been fired in retaliation for him raising issues that qualified as safety issues under the OHSA. The grievance could therefore continue but only on the harassment-retaliation complaint under the OHSA.
Cambrian College of Applied Arts and Technology v Ontario Public Service Employees Union, 2015 CanLII 32501 (ON LA)
For more information, visit our Occupational Health & Safety Law blog at www.occupationalhealthandsafetylaw.com
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