Peggy E. Smith

The Member, a registered nurse, admitted to committing professional misconduct by accessing the personal health records of ten clients without consent or professional authorization over a period of several years.

The Discipline Committee of the College of Nurses of Ontario found the Member guilty of professional misconduct, noting her actions were dishonourable and unprofessional.

The Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand, a three-month suspension of her certificate of registration, and terms including meetings with a nursing expert and a 12-month employer notification requirement.

The applicant filed a human rights application alleging discrimination on the basis of sex.

The Tribunal issued a Case Assessment Direction seeking submissions on whether the application should be deferred pending the completion of concurrent criminal proceedings against the respondent.

The applicant did not oppose deferral but requested terms to ensure the matter was not deferred indefinitely.

The Tribunal ordered the application deferred, requiring the respondent to provide regular updates on the status of the criminal proceedings.

The Grievance Settlement Board held a hearing to determine the employer's compliance with a previous decision.

The Vice-Chair found the employer to be in substantial compliance but ordered the crediting of 4 vacation days and 1.5 short-term sick plan days to the grievor.

The grievor was also given a deadline to identify specific errors in the calculation of a retroactive lump sum payment, and directed to file a fresh grievance for any new accommodation issues.

A probationary employee was discharged shortly after returning from maternity leave.

The collective agreement provided that probationary employees could be discharged at the sole discretion of the employer and such discharge was not subject to grievance procedures.

The employee filed a grievance alleging discriminatory discharge.

The Supreme Court of Canada held that the substantive rights and obligations of the Human Rights Code and other employment-related statutes are implicitly incorporated into all collective agreements.

Therefore, an arbitrator has the jurisdiction to hear a grievance alleging discriminatory discharge, even for a probationary employee.

The union referred a group grievance to arbitration concerning the actions of a single supervisor towards various members of the bargaining unit, alleging a poisoned work environment.

The employer raised preliminary objections, arguing the grievance did not relate to a single event and could not be brought as a group grievance.

The Grievance Settlement Board agreed with the employer, finding that the separate alleged incidents did not meet the collective agreement's requirement that a group grievance involve more than one employee directly affected by one specific incident or circumstance.

The grievance was dismissed.

A probationary employee was discharged shortly after returning from maternity leave and filed a grievance alleging discrimination based on family status.

The collective agreement precluded probationary employees from grieving a discharge, but the board of arbitration found it had jurisdiction under the Labour Relations Act to apply the Human Rights Code.

The Divisional Court quashed this decision.

On appeal, the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, holding that the Employment Standards Act prohibits dismissing an employee for taking pregnancy leave and makes this prohibition enforceable under the collective agreement, prevailing over any conflicting terms.

The Ontario Labour Relations Board issued a bottom-line decision regarding the restructuring of bargaining units at the newly amalgamated City of Kingston under the Public Sector Labour Relations Transition Act, 1997.

The Board directed the preservation of the ONA nurses' unit and a separate utilities unit represented by the IBEW.

Transit workers represented by the CAW were folded into a broader all-employee unit proposed by CUPE.

The Board also defined the firefighters' unit and directed the parties to finalize the remaining bargaining unit descriptions with the assistance of a Board Officer.