Applied research director given opportunity to create own position, but it was significantly less in scope and influence
An Alberta college must pay constructive dismissal damages to a professor whose position was substantially changed and reduced in an academic restructuring, the Alberta Provincial Court has ruled.
Dr. Lorne MacGregor, 59, was the director of applied research at Lethbridge College in Lethbridge, Alta. When the college hired him in 2008, his position was newly created. MacGregor had previously worked in research and consulting in the private sector and was the intellectual property manager at a university for several years before coming to Lethbridge College.
MacGregor’s job description stated that his primary focus was to provide leadership and encourage innovation for the college’s applied research, implementing policies and practices to support the development of applied research and commercialization initiatives. He managed the college’s Office of Applied Research and Innovation along with its budget, as well as cultivated collaborative relationships and support from external clients and financial donors. He had four employees reporting directly to him, as well as some partial direct reports and researchers who reported to him.
During MacGregor’s time as the director of applied research, he worked with other academic institutions, organizations, and government, as well as corporate clients. He also developed a formal strategic research plan and research policies for the college and managed the budgets of several research plans. He reported directly to the dean for the centre of teaching, learning and innovation, though the dean didn’t oversee applied research, leaving him to direct it on his own.
In late 2013, the college hired a new vice-president academic (VP) and chief operating officer (COO) in an attempt to increase the amount of applied research. MacGregor then reported to him.
Changes to applied research model
The new VP and COO decided he wanted to change the Office of Applied Research from a centralized model to a decentralized one, which he felt would help grow applied research at the college. This would make the office a service provider rather than an active participant in applied research, and the various academic centres would do their own research, rather than doing it through the office, which would become an academic centre with its own dean.
MacGregor disagreed with the decentralized model and told the VP. He was shocked when the VP told him his position was being eliminated and asked him to create a new director of applied research services position for himself in the new Centre of Applied Research and Innovation. MacGregor felt that as the applied research leader at the college, he should have been consulted before the decision was made. The VP also told MacGregor the new dean would lead applied research with the director reporting to the dean. In addition, some of the changes were not negotiable.
MacGregor felt there were significant changes to his job, as he would no longer have anyone reporting to him, he wouldn’t be leading external industry engagement, and wouldn’t be sitting on the applied research plan committees — these would all be the responsibilities of the new dean, which the VP indicated was not going to be MacGregor. He also felt it was a drop in importance, as he would be reporting to a dean instead of a VP.
MacGregor filed a claim for constructive dismissal. He soon found a position at another Alberta college and claimed damages for his moving costs.
The court found there had been no history of substantial changes to MacGregor’s position before the new VP’s reorganization plan in 2014, and MacGregor had been doing the same duties since his hiring in 2008. Given MacGregor’s age, status, and experience, there was no term allowing the college to unilaterally make a substantial change to his job without reasonable notice, said the court.
“This was a senior administrative position, and the evidence of Dr. MacGregor was that he was happy to continue on in this position indefinitely,” said the court. “It seems to me to be reasonable for someone at this stage of his career, and in this academic and institutional setting to believe that the college would not have an implied right to make unilateral and substantial changes to his job description.”
Though the VP offered a new position to MacGregor, it was a significantly different scope from his old position and had to be approved by the new dean of applied research. Despite the fact MacGegor’s salary wouldn’t change, his influence and importance in the college’s applied research plans would be much less and amounted to a demotion, said the court.
“At the time of restructure, Dr. MacGregor reported directly to the Vice President Academic. After the restructure Dr. MacGregor would revert to reporting to the dean, a lower level executive,” said the court. “I find that this would have been a demotion and loss of prestige for Dr. MacGregor.”
The court also found that MacGregor didn’t agree or consent with the changes, so the unilateral changes constituted a breach of the employment contract. A reasonable person in MacGregor’s position would feel the college no longer intended to honour the employment agreement and therefore repudiated it, thus giving him the
incentive to seek out another position, said the court.
The court acknowledged that an organization has the right to restructure “in response to the demands of a changing world,” but legitimate business reasons don’t justify making fundamental, unilateral changes to employment contracts without reasonable notice. Lethbridge College didn’t provide reasonable notice of the restructuring to MacGregor, said the court.
The court ordered Lethbridge College to compensate MacGregor for the damages he claimed resulting from the constructive dismissal. These included the costs of selling his home in Lethbridge and searching and buying a new place in the town where he found another position — a total of $26,512.83.
For more information see:
