B. L. Arm­sfrQng

Three employees filed complaints alleging they were discharged for raising safety concerns, contrary to section 24(1) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

The employer maintained they were discharged for leaving their work areas without authorization to conduct safety inspections and disrupting other employees.

The Board found the employer did not breach the Act, as the discharges were motivated by the employees' insubordination and disruption of work, not their safety complaints.

However, exercising its jurisdiction under section 24(7) to review the penalties, the Board upheld the discharge of one employee who had ignored a prior written warning, but substituted five-day suspensions for the other two employees who had not received clear warnings about their conduct.