OGSB 2015

The union filed grievances on behalf of two correctional officers alleging the employer violated the collective agreement through its application of the Attendance Support Management Program and improper use of confidential medical information.

Following unsuccessful mediation, the union requested an interim order regarding the storage of the grievors' medical files pending litigation.

The Grievance Settlement Board granted the interim order, directing the employer to store the medical files in a locked cabinet with restricted access, and ordered the parties to proceed with scheduling the litigation of the first grievance.

The union requested an order directing the employer to fully implement the terms of a Memorandum of Settlement resolving a grievance.

Following a conference call, the Grievance Settlement Board ordered the Ministry to fully implement the settlement within 30 days, including providing the grievor with a new keyboard tray of her choosing.

The Employer sought production of the grievor's complete medical records in a grievance arbitration.

The Grievance Settlement Board ordered the production of the records from January 1, 2004, to the present, subject to strict confidentiality conditions restricting their use and dissemination to the Employer's counsel and advisors for hearing preparation purposes only.

The Employer sought the release of the Grievor's Independent Medical Examination Report and Long Term Insurance Plan file in a dispute over the Grievor's medical condition.

The Grievance Settlement Board directed the Union to provide the documents to the Employer's counsel, subject to strict privacy conditions limiting their use and disclosure to specific individuals involved in the litigation.

The grievor alleged that the employer and the Ontario Pension Trustees discriminated against him based on age by denying him the ability to retire without penalty at 80 points because he had not yet reached age 60.

The employer argued that the Human Rights Code contains a specific exception for pension plans that comply with the Employment Standards Act.

The arbitrator agreed with the employer, finding no violation of the Human Rights Code or other legislation, and dismissed the grievance.

The union grieved the discharge of a warehouse worker who was terminated for allegedly concealing and stealing alcohol from the employer's warehouse.

The employer relied on circumstantial evidence, including video surveillance showing the grievor repeatedly going behind a wall near his workstation, examining product, and hiding cases of alcohol behind boxes of twine.

The grievor denied the allegations and offered alternative explanations for his conduct.

The arbitrator found the grievor's explanations lacked credibility and were inconsistent with the objective evidence.

Concluding that the preponderance of circumstantial evidence clearly established the grievor stole and concealed the product, the arbitrator upheld the discharge and dismissed the grievance.

The union filed grievances on behalf of several Ambulance Communication Officers, arguing that the employer improperly calculated their continuous service dates (CSD) when they transitioned from fixed-term to regular full-time employees.

The union contended that the employer's strict requirement of 40-hour work weeks to count towards CSD unfairly disregarded hours worked under compressed work week agreements.

The Grievance Settlement Board dismissed the grievances, finding that the clear language of the collective agreement supported the employer's calculation method, which required 40 hours per week to constitute a 'full-time week' for fixed-term employees.