Felicity D. Briggs

The grievor, a Correctional Officer, filed a grievance alleging that his supervisor's actions caused him a stress injury.

The supervisor had falsely accused the grievor of photocopying an obscene gesture and placing it under her door, an accusation that exacerbated the grievor's anxiety from a prior incident.

The matter proceeded through an expedited mediation-arbitration process.

The arbitrator found that while the supervisor's conduct was not intended to harm and she apologized upon learning of the grievor's anxiety, the grievance was upheld in part.

The employer was ordered to pay the grievor $2,500.

The Grievance Settlement Board directed the Employer to produce medical documentation and health care records regarding specific inmates in relation to incidents on August 21 and 26, 2014.

The production was ordered subject to strict confidentiality conditions, including restrictions on dissemination, copying, and use outside of the arbitration process.

The union filed a grievance on behalf of a bailiff who received a three-day suspension for allegedly staring at a coworker in a menacing and intimidating way.

The employer relied on an occurrence report from the coworker.

However, video evidence of the incident became available which contradicted the coworker's assertions and showed the grievor's deportment as calm and non-threatening.

The arbitrator found that the employer failed to discharge its burden of proof to establish just cause for discipline.

The grievance was upheld, the suspension was removed from the grievor's file, and full compensation was ordered.

Following a finding that the employer breached the collective agreement, the matter of damages was remitted to the parties.

The employer raised a jurisdictional objection regarding the board's authority to award damages resulting from a workplace injury.

On consent, the board adjourned the matter sine die for six months to allow the parties to further consider their positions.

The Union filed grievances on behalf of several residential counselors following the closure of the Rideau Regional Centre and Huronia Regional Centre.

The grievors alleged that the Employer improperly surplussed them and failed to inform them of the option to take an unpaid leave of absence to bridge their service to qualify for the Surplus Factor 80 pension option.

The Grievance Settlement Board dismissed the grievances, finding no violation of the collective agreement and no bad faith on the part of the Employer.

The Board held that the Employer was not obligated to inform employees of the leave of absence option to reach Surplus Factor 80, and the grievors' failure to qualify was due to timing rather than differential treatment.

The Union requested an adjournment sine die of four grievances, including a discharge grievance, pending the receipt of medical information regarding the grievor's ability to participate in the hearing.

The Employer opposed the adjournment and moved to dismiss the grievances summarily, noting the grievor's failure to comply with a prior Board order to provide medical documentation.

The Grievance Settlement Board denied the adjournment and dismissed the grievances, finding no timely medical evidence to substantiate the grievor's inability to participate, especially given her concurrent ability to pursue litigation in the courts.

The grievor, a Correctional Officer, filed a grievance alleging that the Employer's Attendance Support Management Program caused a co-worker to attend work while ill, which subsequently caused the grievor to become ill.

The grievor sought removal from the program and an order for the Employer to send ill employees home.

The Grievance Settlement Board dismissed the grievance, finding no medical evidence linking the grievor's illness to the co-worker and concluding there was no violation of the Collective Agreement.

The grievor, a maintenance worker, alleged that the Employer failed to call him for overtime on the August paid holiday in 2012.

The matter proceeded through an expedited mediation-arbitration process.

The arbitrator found that the maintenance department's sign-up sheet did not indicate the grievor had made himself available to work on the paid holiday in question.

The grievance was denied.

The grievor, a fixed-term Correctional Officer, called in sick and was asked to provide a medical certificate upon his return.

He filed a grievance after not being paid for the missed shift, arguing that the Employer improperly requested medical certificates from everyone who reported ill that weekend.

The Employer maintained that managerial discretion was exercised in requesting the certificates.

The Grievance Settlement Board found no violation of the Collective Agreement and dismissed the grievance.

The union filed a grievance alleging that the grievor was suspended from work and sent home, resulting in a four-hour reduction in pay.

The employer contended that the grievor was unhappy with a managerial decision and chose to leave the workplace.

The Grievance Settlement Board, in an expedited mediation-arbitration process, found on a balance of probabilities that the grievor was not suspended but chose to leave the workplace.

The grievance was dismissed.

The grievor, a Correctional Officer, filed a grievance alleging he was improperly denied overtime while on an accommodation plan for a workplace injury.

The grievor was working reduced hours subsidized by WSIB.

WSIB directed that the grievor was not permitted to work overtime as it would be outside his medical precautions and could put his recovery at risk.

The Employer complied with this direction.

The arbitrator found no breach of the Collective Agreement, the overtime protocol, or the duty to accommodate, and dismissed the grievance.

The grievor, a Correctional Officer, filed a grievance alleging he was improperly bypassed for overtime opportunities due to his accommodation needs.

The employer raised a preliminary objection that the grievance was filed well beyond the mandatory time limits set out in the collective agreement.

The Grievance Settlement Board agreed, finding no reasonable explanation for the delay that would justify extending the time limits.

The grievance was dismissed.

The Union filed a grievance on behalf of four female Correctional Officers alleging the Employer failed to equally distribute overtime during their temporary assignment at the Vanier Centre for Women.

The grievors argued they lost overtime opportunities because they were not provided with young offender training, relying on a Memorandum of Agreement.

The Grievance Settlement Board dismissed the grievance, finding that the grievors were temporarily assigned to the Centre for Women, not the Young Offender Unit, and therefore the provision requiring training did not apply to them.

The union filed grievances alleging the employer violated the collective agreement by failing to provide notice of scheduling changes when the grievors were reassigned to the Toronto South Detention Centre during a restructuring.

The employer argued there was no schedule change because there was no posted schedule for the grievors at their previous facility beyond their reporting date, and they were notified of their new reporting time in advance.

Relying on a previous decision involving similar facts, the arbitrator agreed with the employer and dismissed the grievances.

The grievor, a fixed-term Correctional Officer, filed a grievance alleging she should have been rolled-over into the classified service.

She relied on a document provided to her to confirm her actual hours, which mistakenly stated 'Date converted from Unclassified to Classified 1-April – 13'.

The arbitrator dismissed the grievance, finding that the notation was a clerical error and that the grievor did not have sufficient hours worked to qualify for the roll-over compared to other fixed-term employees.

The parties participated in an expedited mediation-arbitration process at the St. Lawrence Valley Correctional and Treatment Centre.

Two grievances regarding accommodation and overtime distribution remained unresolved.

The Board issued a procedural decision establishing a timeline for the parties to exchange facts and written submissions before a final decision is rendered.

The Grievance Settlement Board issued a without-reasons decision resolving 72 outstanding overtime grievances between the union and the employer.

The decision was the result of a Med/Arb process established by a Memorandum of Agreement to deal with overtime grievances on a regular basis.

The appendix lists the disposition of each grievance, with some allowed and paid at applicable overtime rates, and the majority dismissed.

The union filed a grievance on behalf of a correctional officer who received a twenty-day suspension for a workplace incident.

The matter proceeded through an expedited mediation-arbitration process.

The arbitrator found the incident was serious but noted mitigating factors, including the grievor's long service, lack of prior discipline, and acceptance of responsibility.

The arbitrator ordered the discipline reduced to a twelve-day suspension with appropriate compensation for the difference.

The grievor alleged harassment and discrimination based on gender and union activity after the Employer opened her locker without consent.

The Employer had previously apologized, stating the opening was a mistake because there was no record of the grievor using that specific locker, despite her having informed an Operating Manager.

The Grievance Settlement Board dismissed the grievance, finding no evidence of gender discrimination or anti-union animus, and concluding that the administrative mistake did not violate the Collective Agreement or any employment-related statute.

The union filed a grievance on behalf of a correctional officer who received a five-day suspension.

The matter proceeded through an expedited mediation-arbitration process.

The arbitrator found that while some discipline was appropriate, a five-day suspension was too severe given the mitigating factors and the employer's concession that the grievor acted in good faith without intent to improperly profit.

The discipline was reduced to a twelve-hour suspension, with the grievor to be compensated for lost income.