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One Serious Incident of Dishonesty Justifies Summary Dismissal of Long-term Employee

A British Columbia arbitration board has held that an employee’s dishonesty during a workplace investigation into the employee’s conduct was just cause for dismissal notwithstanding 21 years of good service and an otherwise untainted employment record.  Although associating with a prostitute while driving a company car was not sufficient cause for dismissal, the arbitration board found that when the employee was dishonest with his employer and then again before the arbitration board about his interactions with the prostitute, this factor alone supported the employer’s just cause dismissal.

The employee in the case of Fortis Energy Inc. v. I.B.E.W. Local 213, worked as a customer service technician.  He was responsible for construction and maintenance, which required him to work alone with a company car. Near the end of his shift one evening, he was approached by a prostitute while looking for directions in an empty parking lot. A security guard’s report described the employee being “serviced by the prostitute”. When the employer launched an investigation, the employee was interviewed twice. The employee admitted to being in the parking lot and speaking with the prostitute, but denied that she had entered the company vehicle. During both interviews, the employer emphasized that the employee would be able to retain his job with the company if he was honest and fired if he was not. The company also reiterated the importance of honesty in these circumstances. At the conclusion of the investigation, the employer determined that the security guard’s report was more credible and clearer than the testimony given by the employee. The credibility of the security guard’s report rested on the evidence that it was his job to observe and report, he wrote the report immediately after the employee left the parking lot, and the security guard’s interest in defending the accuracy of his report was outweighed by the employee’s self interest in retaining his job.

In this instance, the arbitration board found that discipline would have been an appropriate remedy for the employee’s first misconduct in breaching the business code, however, dismissal was the appropriate remedy for the employee’s dishonesty, which amounted to a breach of trust.

The CCP team has expertise in wrongful and just cause dismissals. If you are unsure of whether certain employee conduct constitutes just cause for dismissal, please feel free to contact any of our lawyers to discuss appropriate courses of action.

Please Note: This blog has been prepared as an informational service for our clients and other interested parties. It is not intended to constitute legal advice, a complete statement of the law or opinion on any subject. Although we endeavour to ensure the accuracy of the content, no one should act upon the information provided without a thorough examination of the law after the facts of a specific situation are fully considered.