OGSB 2020

The grievor, a fixed-term Youth Services Officer, was denied unpaid vacation leave in 2019.

The union filed a grievance alleging the denial breached the collective agreement and the Employment Standards Act, 2000.

The arbitrator found that the denial of unpaid vacation leave was indeed a breach and issued a declaration to that effect.

However, because the grievor became a full-time permanent employee in 2020 and was credited with 52 weeks for 2019 for calculating his continuous service date, no damages were awarded.

The grievor, a Youth Services Officer, was directed to work overtime but advised she had a medical appointment.

She was relieved from the overtime but directed to provide a medical note confirming the appointment.

The grievor provided a note and filed a grievance seeking $20 for the cost of the note, as well as a declaration of bullying and harassment and $5,000 in general damages.

Proceeding on the basis of representations without reasons, the arbitrator directed the employer to pay the grievor $20 for the medical note and dismissed the grievance in all other respects.

The grievor failed to attend the scheduled videoconference hearing for their grievance arbitration.

After standing the matter down for 30 minutes, the grievor still did not appear.

The arbitrator ordered that the grievance be dismissed unless the grievor provides a suitable explanation for the failure to attend within two weeks.

The grievor failed to attend the scheduled videoconference arbitration hearing, and the union was unaware of the reason for his absence.

The arbitrator granted the union 21 days to contact the grievor, provide sufficient reasons for his non-attendance, and seek assurances of his future participation.

If the grievor fails to do so, the parties will provide written submissions on how to proceed, including whether the grievance should be dismissed.

The Grievance Settlement Board held a Med-Arb session to resolve numerous outstanding overtime grievances between the union and the employer.

Following the presentation of facts and submissions by both parties, the arbitrator issued a bottom-line decision without reasons, as agreed by the parties.

The attached appendix details the disposition of each individual grievance, with some being upheld and others dismissed.

In an interim decision regarding document production, the Union requested unredacted audio tapes of emergency calls and Bell call logs for administrative lines.

The Employer objected, arguing that producing the audio tapes would breach the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA) and be unduly burdensome, and that producing the call logs would require creating new records that do not currently exist.

The Arbitrator agreed with the Employer, finding that the requested productions would be unduly burdensome and, in the case of the audio tapes, would breach PHIPA.

The Union's requests for production were denied.

The Grievance Settlement Board ordered the Ontario Public Service Employees Union to provide the Employer with full particulars of all alleged facts relied upon in support of the grievance by February 26, 2021.

The Union filed a group grievance alleging that the Employer violated employees' privacy rights by subjecting them to searches after a cash bag containing a large sum of money went missing from the office.

The Arbitrator issued case management directions to govern the arbitration process for the groups of grievors alleging improper physical or personal possession searches.

The directions established timelines for particulars, production, and the exchange of witness declarations, and set the parameters for a one-day consultation hearing.

The parties agreed to consolidate several grievance files before the Grievance Settlement Board.

The arbitrator ordered the consolidation and directed the Union to provide particulars in respect of the consolidated matters by a specified date.

The Employer brought a preliminary motion asserting that the grievor, a seasonal employee, lost his seniority under the collective agreement by declining an offer of re-employment when his position was relocated.

The grievor had suffered a severe medical condition and requested accommodation, but the Employer refused to provide the necessary medical assessment forms until he accepted the relocated position.

The Arbitrator dismissed the motion, finding that the grievor's actions, including his request for accommodation and filing of a grievance, demonstrated an intent to maintain employment rather than decline the offer.

The Association filed a grievance alleging the Employer violated the collective agreement when it did not maintain the grievor's previous salary after he won a competition for a lower-paying bargaining unit position following the end of his non-union fixed-term contract.

The Employer brought a motion to dismiss for failing to make out a prima facie case.

The Arbitrator granted the motion, finding that the collective agreement's pay protection for 'voluntary demotion' requires an employee to currently hold a position and voluntarily choose to move to a lower-paying one, which did not apply to the grievor who was not employed when he accepted the new position.

The Union filed grievances on behalf of three fixed-term Operations Officers at the Provincial Emergency Operations Centre, alleging the Employer failed to post and fill permanent vacancies, failed to convert them to regular service, and failed to provide attendance credits.

The Arbitrator found that the Employer violated the collective agreement by failing to post permanent vacancies despite a continuing need for full-time work at the duty desk.

The Arbitrator also found the Employer improperly ceased issuing attendance credits.

However, the conversion grievance was dismissed because the collective agreement required a minimum number of 'straight-time' hours, and the grievors' overtime hours could not be included to meet the threshold.

The Union filed grievances alleging the Employer failed to adequately address complaints about the conduct of a Provincial Bailiff, Mr. Pacheco, which allegedly contributed to a poisoned work environment.

Mr. Pacheco sought intervenor status as a third party to defend his reputation.

The Arbitrator denied the request, finding that the proceeding focused solely on the Employer's response to the complaints, not the validity of the allegations against Mr. Pacheco.

Therefore, Mr. Pacheco had no direct interest or important stake in the outcome that would justify third-party standing.

The union sought an adjournment of a scheduled videoconference hearing after the grievor failed to attend.

The employer agreed to the adjournment but requested conditions, specifically that the grievor provide a written explanation for her absence, failing which the grievances should be dismissed.

The arbitrator ordered the grievor to provide written particulars explaining her non-attendance and failure to give notice, after which the employer could renew its motion for dismissal.

The Employer brought a motion to enforce a Memorandum of Settlement reached during mediation.

The grievor refused to sign the document, arguing she did not agree to withdraw her human rights application.

The arbitrator found that the union representative had apparent authority to negotiate on behalf of both the union and the grievor, and that an oral agreement had been reached before the grievor refused to sign.

The motion was granted, and the settlement was found to be binding on all parties.

The Union sought an order for the production of documents relating to complaints, discipline, and investigations concerning a specific employee's conduct and an allegedly poisoned work environment.

The Arbitrator ordered the Employer to produce the requested documents, subject to privilege, and imposed conditions on the Union's counsel regarding the use and destruction of documents containing personal information.

The grievor, a correctional officer, filed two grievances alleging the employer breached the collective agreement by denying his requests for special and compassionate leave.

The parties referred the matter to mediation/arbitration and requested a decision without precedent or prejudice, and without written reasons.

The arbitrator granted the first grievance in part and denied the second, directing the employer to pay the grievor for six hours as one half of a discretionary day.

The union filed a grievance on behalf of an employee who was disciplined for an incident that occurred in a courtroom.

The union sought production of the court recording from the date and time of the incident, arguing it was relevant to the dispute over what transpired.

The arbitrator ordered the employer to produce the requested court recording to the union.

The grievor, a Correctional Officer, filed a grievance claiming his Continuous Service Date (CSD) was incorrectly calculated because it did not include 13 seasons he worked as a seasonal Forest Fire Fighter for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.

The Grievance Settlement Board found that under the collective agreement, fixed-term seniority is calculated back to the first break in employment greater than 13 weeks.

Because the grievor had no break greater than 13 weeks in 2003 before starting as a Correctional Officer, his hours for that year must be counted.

However, previous years could not be counted due to breaks in service greater than 13 weeks.

The grievance was upheld in part.

The grievor, a Correctional Officer, received a one-day suspension for allegedly arriving late to her assigned post and using her cell phone in a secure area without authorization.

The grievor acknowledged the improper cell phone use but disputed the allegation of arriving late.

The arbitrator found that the acknowledged improper cell phone use was a sufficient basis for the one-day suspension, making it unnecessary to address the late arrival allegation.

The grievance was dismissed.