Brian P. Sheehan

The grievor, a Food Services Officer, fell from a ladder at work and broke her wrist.

She received benefits under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (WSIA).

The union filed a grievance alleging the employer breached the Occupational Health and Safety Act by providing an improper ladder, seeking compensation for the difference between her WSIA benefits and normal wages.

The Grievance Settlement Board dismissed the grievance, holding that section 26(2) of the WSIA codifies the 'historic trade-off' and precludes the Board from awarding additional compensation for a workplace injury beyond the statutory benefits.

The union filed a grievance on behalf of an unclassified correctional officer after the employer refused to approve a shift exchange.

The grievor, scheduled for a 4-hour shift, agreed to exchange shifts with another officer scheduled for a 12-hour shift who could not work due to childcare commitments.

The employer denied the exchange because the shifts were of unequal length, and instead split the 12-hour shift between two employees according to the protocol for assigning available hours.

The arbitrator dismissed the grievance, finding the employer's decision was reasonable and consistent with its obligation under the local agreement to distribute available hours of work to unclassified correctional officers in a fair and equitable manner.

The grievor, a Correctional Officer, filed two grievances related to a request for compassionate leave associated with the death of his father.

The grievor had previously used two days of compassionate leave.

When his father's health worsened, he requested three days of sick leave, and his father passed away the following day.

The grievor sought to have the three sick days converted to compassionate leave and also filed a grievance alleging his workplace discrimination and harassment complaint was mishandled.

The arbitrator dismissed the harassment grievance but upheld the compassionate leave grievance in part, ordering the employer to convert one of the sick days to a compassionate leave day.

The grievor, a Correctional Officer, filed a grievance claiming his Continuous Service Date (CSD) should be adjusted to include overtime hours worked while he was an unclassified officer.

The union argued that other officers had improperly received such credit and the grievor should be granted the same benefit.

The Grievance Settlement Board dismissed the grievance, finding that even if the employer had improperly credited other employees, it would not justify treating the grievor in a likewise improper manner, and there was no basis to find the collective agreement was violated.