OGSB 2018

The union brought a motion for the production of various documents related to a computer refresh and data wiping that occurred in September 2017, in the context of a discipline grievance.

The arbitrator reviewed the union's list of requested items, which included keypress data, emails, occurrence report properties, phone records, and wipe out certificates.

The arbitrator granted the requests for emails between specific individuals regarding the refresh, documents setting out when the computers arrived for disposal, and the wipe out certificates, finding them arguably relevant.

The remaining requests were denied on the basis that they would not provide arguably relevant information.

The Union and the grievor alleged that the Employer failed to comply with several terms of a Memorandum of Settlement resolving previous grievances.

The arbitrator reviewed the allegations regarding mandatory training, workplace discrimination policy training, privacy of human resources discussions, attendance management program exclusions, and vacation credits.

The arbitrator found no basis to conclude that the Employer had breached the terms of the Memorandum, dismissing the grievance while remaining seized of one issue regarding vacation credits.

In a discharge grievance, the union advanced positive allegations that the employer defamed the grievor in seven instances.

The employer brought a preliminary motion to dismiss five of these instances on the grounds that they failed to disclose a prima facie case, were protected by absolute or partial privilege, or constituted an improper expansion of the grievance.

The arbitrator granted the employer's motion in its entirety, issuing a bottom-line decision dismissing the five defamation allegations due to inadequate particulars, application of privilege, and improper expansion of the grievance.

In an ongoing discipline grievance arbitration, the Union sought the production of various documents.

The Arbitrator reviewed the status of the production requests, noting which documents the Employer claimed never existed, could not be located, or were withdrawn by the Union.

The Arbitrator denied the Union's renewed request for a control logbook to establish the timing of a Code Blue, finding it to be a collateral matter not arguably relevant to the central issues.

The Employer was directed to produce two other specific logbook entries if they were in its possession.

The Grievance Settlement Board heard a preliminary motion regarding document exchange, particulars, and the scope of the grievances.

The arbitrator ordered the parties to exchange arguably relevant documents and particulars by specified dates in January 2019.

The arbitrator also ruled that if the grievances include systemic incidents of harassment or discrimination, the evidence at the hearing will be limited to three years prior to December 1, 2017.

The grievor's long-term income protection (LTIP) benefits were terminated by the insurance carrier.

The grievor subsequently settled a civil lawsuit against the carrier for a lump sum payment.

The union grieved the employer's cessation of pension and benefit premium payments, arguing the lump sum represented ongoing LTIP benefits under article 42.3.1 of the collective agreement.

The arbitrator dismissed the grievance, finding that a lump sum settlement without reinstatement of benefits does not meet the precondition of 'receiving LTIP benefits' required to trigger the employer's obligation.

The Association raised preliminary issues regarding the Employer's request for additional medical information from the grievor while she was receiving Short Term Sickness Plan (STSP) benefits.

The Association argued that Article 37 of the collective agreement constituted a complete code for medical information requests and that the Employer should proceed first with its evidence.

The Arbitrator issued a bottom-line decision, finding that Article 37 does not constitute a complete code, but ordering the Employer to proceed first with its evidence.

The grievor filed a grievance alleging that the employer violated the collective agreement by failing to give primary consideration to her qualifications and placing undue reliance on a test score during a job competition.

The union subsequently provided particulars alleging harassment and bad faith.

The employer brought a preliminary motion to strike these particulars as an improper expansion of the grievance.

The arbitrator granted the motion, finding that the grievance was completely silent on allegations of harassment or bad faith, and that permitting the union to proceed with these allegations would be an improper expansion of the grievance.

The Union grieved a letter of warning issued to a bus driver for a preventable collision, seeking removal of the preventable collision designation from all files.

The Employer raised a preliminary objection, arguing the arbitrator lacked jurisdiction to re-characterize the collision for non-disciplinary purposes, such as training and risk assessments, as the collective agreement provided a specific external review process (Ontario Safety League) for that purpose.

The arbitrator agreed with the Employer, holding that while she had jurisdiction to determine preventability in the context of whether there was just cause for discipline, she lacked jurisdiction to determine preventability for all purposes in relation to the Employer's operations.

In an expedited mediation/arbitration under the Crown Employees Collective Bargaining Act, the Union grieved the Employer's denial of meal allowances and Custodial Responsibility Allowances (CRA) for two Motor Vehicle Operators.

The arbitrator allowed the meal allowance grievances, directing the Employer to consider the claims.

The CRA grievances were denied, as the grievors did not meet the conditions under the collective agreement, subject to the Union's right to argue human rights issues in a separate grievance.

The Union sought production of materials, including video recordings, arguably relevant to the grievances.

The Arbitrator ordered the Employer to produce the requested materials to Union counsel by January 31, 2019.

The employer brought a motion to dismiss a grievance filed by a junior employee claiming a right to bump into a Dispute Resolution Officer position.

The employer argued that the claim was barred by a settlement agreement reached with a more senior employee regarding the same position, which contained a broad release clause.

The Arbitrator dismissed the motion, finding that the settlement agreement explicitly applied only to the disputes filed by the senior employee and did not extinguish the bumping rights of other employees.

The Association grieved the Employer's request that the grievor have her doctor complete an Employee Health Information Form while she was receiving Short Term Sickness Plan (STSP) benefits, arguing that Article 37 of the collective agreement constituted a complete code regarding medical information requests.

The arbitrator held that Article 37 does not constitute a complete code, finding that the provision of a medical certificate is a necessary but not sufficient condition for STSP entitlement, and does not preclude the Employer from requesting additional information if circumstances warrant.

On the secondary issue of the order of proceedings, the arbitrator directed the Employer to proceed first with its evidence, as the reasons for requesting additional information lay within its knowledge.

The parties agreed to case management directions in a grievance arbitration.

The Arbitrator ordered the consolidation of two grievance files, set deadlines for the Employer to respond to the Association's production requests, scheduled hearing dates, and remained seized of the matter.

The Union alleged that the Employer breached the Minutes of Settlement by failing to pay the grievor within the agreed-upon 60-day timeframe and failing to make best efforts to pay as soon as possible.

The Employer argued that the delay was due to an honest mistake and a postal strike, and that the breach was minor.

The Arbitrator found that the Employer failed to make best efforts to expedite payment and missed the absolute 60-day deadline, which caused significant distress to the unemployed grievor.

The Arbitrator declared that the Employer breached the settlement and ordered the Employer to pay $750 in damages to the grievor.

The union grieved the repayment of an overpayment issued to the grievor in error.

The parties disputed the amount owed and whether a previous binding settlement resolved the question.

Proceeding by expedited arbitration, the arbitrator declared that the entire amount owed by the grievor to the employer for the overpayment was $4,779.02.

The union filed a grievance alleging the employer breached the collective agreement by denying the grievor's request for a paid leave of absence on a compassionate basis.

The matter proceeded via the expedited mediation-arbitration process.

The arbitrator found no breach of the collective agreement and dismissed the grievance without reasons, in accordance with the negotiated protocol.

The grievor, a correctional officer, was required to work an 18-hour shift supervising an inmate at a hospital, missing his daughter's birthday celebration.

The union grieved that the mandatory overtime breached the collective agreement and a protocol limiting consecutive hours of work to 16 hours.

The arbitrator found the employer breached the collective agreement and issued a declaration to that effect, but declined to award damages.

The employer brought a preliminary motion to dismiss six individual grievances regarding overtime distribution on the basis that they were referred to arbitration 16 days beyond the collective agreement's time limits.

The union requested an extension of time under section 48(16) of the Labour Relations Act.

The arbitrator applied the factors from Becker Milk and Greater Niagara General Hospital, finding that the union was responsible for the delay but that the 16-day delay was minimal and did not substantially prejudice the employer's ability to prepare its case.

The arbitrator exercised his discretion to extend the time limits and dismissed the employer's motion, allowing the grievances to proceed to a hearing on the merits.

The grievor failed to attend multiple scheduled expedited mediation-arbitration sessions regarding a grievance for denial of compassionate leave.

The arbitrator directed the grievor to attend the next scheduled session, warning that failure to attend and fully participate would result in the grievance being deemed withdrawn.