A Degree In Deception: Alberta Court Upholds Termination For Cause

In Tudor v. Accurate Screen Ltd., 2026 ABKB 237, the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta dismissed an action for wrongful dismissal against Accurate Screen Ltd. (Accurate Screen) commenced by former executive, Matthew Tudor (Mr. Tudor). Accurate Screen successfully argued that it had just cause to terminate Mr. Tudor’s employment due to his ongoing misrepresentation of his academic credentials.

This decision highlights that an employer is entitled to rely on the representations made by a candidate or an employee, especially for executive-level roles. Any intentional misrepresentation can be used to establish just cause to dismiss an employee.

Background

In March 2023, Mr. Tudor submitted an online job application along with a copy of his resume for the role of Vice President of Business Development at Accurate Screen. Mr. Tudor’s resume indicated that he would be completing a Master of Business Administration (MBA) program at McGill University in November 2023. Despite this representation, Mr. Tudor never enrolled in any MBA program or completed any MBA courses. Mr. Tudor also did not advise Accurate Screen during the hiring process that he was not in fact enrolled in an MBA program.

Accurate Screen did not assess or otherwise question the accuracy of his education. Based on his resume and job interviews, Accurate Screen offered Mr. Tudor the job of VP Business Development, which he accepted.

Mr. Tudor was employed as Accurate Screen’s VP Business Development for approximately seven months. During his tenure, Mr. Tudor was asked to work on a forecasting project, which required the use of statistical and quantitative analysis, as well as Microsoft Excel. Following the submission of a draft report, it was evident that Mr. Tudor lacked the knowledge and skills required to complete the forecasting project.¹

As a result of his inability to meet expectations, Accurate Screen became concerned about Mr. Tudor’s education and qualifications.² When questioned about his MBA coursework, Mr. Tudor was evasive and continued to purposefully mislead Accurate Screen. Eventually, after several meetings, Mr. Tudor informed Accurate Screen that he had never completed an MBA program and was not in the process of completing one.

Shortly thereafter, Accurate Screen advised Mr. Tudor that his employment was being terminated with cause. Mr. Tudor subsequently sued Accurate Screen for wrongful dismissal damages. In accordance with Rule 8.25(1) of the Alberta Rules of Court, the matter proceeded by way of a streamlined trial.

The Decision

Justice Yamauchi rejected Mr. Tudor’s claim of wrongful dismissal, concluding that the deliberate embellishment of academic qualifications is not a mere error in judgment.³ Accordingly, Accurate Screen established that it had just cause to end Mr. Tudor’s employment.

The common law establishes that executive employees are expected to exhibit trustworthiness and patent honesty. Mr. Tudor’s intentional misrepresentation of his credentials violated the level of honesty and trust required in an executive leadership position.⁴

In this case, Justice Yamauchi emphasized that Accurate Screen did not have a duty to inquire about Mr. Tudor’s educational qualifications. A potential employee has a duty to provide accurate information regarding their academic credentials, which a potential employer can reasonably expect to rely on, particularly for executive-level roles.⁵

Justice Yamauchi determined that Mr. Tudor’s dishonesty in his resume, combined with his repeated failure to come clean while working on the forecasting project, extended far beyond a lack of judgement, striking at the heart of the employment relationship.⁶

Although Mr. Tudor was not entitled to any wrongful dismissal damages, Justice Yamauchi found that he was entitled to receive a pro rata executive bonus based on his seven months of service (less any prepaid bonus).

Key Takeaways

The Tudor decision reiterates that there is no obligation for an employer to verify the qualifications of a candidate applying for an executive position. Instead, a potential employer is entitled to take an executive-level candidate at their word, including the representations contained in their resume. This decision also serves as a reminder that employers can rely upon an employee’s deliberate misrepresentations during the hiring process to justify termination for just cause.

Footnotes

¹ Tudor v. Accurate Screen Ltd., 2026 ABKB 237 at para 125 [Tudor].
² Tudor at para 59.
³ Tudor at para 88.
⁴ Tudor at para 108.
⁵ Tudor at paras 87 and 124.
⁶ Tudor at para 127.

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