Multiple incidents of swearing at colleagues
A long-time employee with Pacific Western Brewing Company in Prince George, B.C., was demoted from a lead hand position after multiple blow-ups with other workers.
Robert Liness had worked with the company for 22 years, beginning as a labourer. In 1999, he was promoted to the shipper/receiver relief position.
Part of those duties was to fill in for the permanent shipper/receiver in the distribution department.
As part of the position, the shipper/receiver told forklift operators where to put various items for shipment. When working this shift, workers were given a lead hand premium of $1.50 per hour.
On June 21, 2013, forklift operator Kyle Elder said he was talking to two other employees when Liness approached and told Elder to stop being a “dog f---er.” Later in the shift, Edler reportedly told him he was “dog f---ing” and at the end of the day he was called a “f---ing dog f---er.”
The following week, Elder said Liness suddenly shoved him.
When asked about these incidents by members of the plant committee Liness said he was sorry about the way he spoke but said did not intentionally shove Elder. Eventually, the pair discussed the incidents and Liness resolved to behave better in future.
But on Jan. 27, 2014, Liness confronted office manager Shelly Bruder about a discrepancy with a pay stub. As he left the meeting, he swore at Bruder. He was given a one-day suspension for not treating other employees with respect.
Then in Feb. 2014, an email from Liness’ account was sent to his wife, and it contained confidential company information. He deleted the email but the action was noticed and management issued him a written warning.
Finally, on May 12, 2014, after hearing from Elder about a May 2 incident in which Liness yelled at him and unsafely drove too close to him while on a forklift truck, as well as another incident with yet another worker earlier that day, the company advised Liness he could no longer work as lead hand.
Instead, he was demoted to forklift operator and was t no longer relieve anybody as a shipper/receiver on any shift, thus denying him the right to earn either the higher wage rate of a shipper/receiver or a lead hand premium.
Soon after, Liness took leave due to depression and anger issues and attended four counselling sessions before returning to work in August 2014.
Brewery, Winery and Distillery Workers Union, Local 300, grieved the demotion, arguing the decision wasn’t arrived at by just and reasonable cause.
It argued that demotion was not a remedy available to the employer in a discipline case because the collective agreement said, “Employees may only be given a written warning, notice of suspension, or be discharged for just and reasonable cause.”
But arbitrator John Kinzie partially upheld the employer’s decision to demote Liness because the collective agreement language “references the more common forms of disciplinary measures, but I am not persuaded that it evidences an intention to thereby exclude demotion from the forms of disciplinary measures available to the employer.”
The decision included a condition. “If the grievor can establish that he has overcome his anger management and depression issues to an extent that it is unlikely that he will repeat the kind of unacceptable behaviour and comments towards his fellow employees that he has engaged in in the past, he is to then be reinstated to the shipper/receiver position to perform relief duties as he has done previously,” said Kinzie.
A trained professional would have to attest that Liness’ anger issues are in the past before he could be returned to the higher job classification, said Kinzie.
Reference: Pacific Western Brewing Company and Brewery, Winery and Distillery Workers Union, Local 300. John Kinzie — arbitrator. Peter Csiszar for the employer. Robert Logue for the employee. Oct. 26, 2016.
