Driver’s ‘belligerent’ mood caused by management

A truck driver who was fired for insubordination has been reinstated by an Ontario arbitrator who determined that the employer helped provoke the driver’s behaviour.

YRC Freight Canada is an international transportation company providing freight hauling services across Canada and the U.S. The Canadian branch is based in Winnipeg.

Jasmine Bakija started working for YRC in  1998 as a truck driver. He was part of YRC’s express service that involved teams of two drivers that provided nearly non-stop service by taking shifts of four hours on and four hours off.

Bakija suffered a heart attack in 2017 and remained off work until April 2018, when he returned to working with his regular dedicated driving partner. The partner retired in September and Bakija advised YRC that he wanted to drive solo. When the company offered him an experienced replacement driver, he abruptly responded that he wouldn’t run with double drivers regardless of what the managers wanted. However, Bakija didn’t have the seniority for regular single runs and two-driver express runs were the heart of YRC’s business.

YRC requested a functional abilities form from Bakija’s doctor, who indicated that “Bakija’s main treatment for his medical condition is regular exercise and healthy diet, and driving single will enable him to follow his treatment plan.” However, the doctor refrained from making a specific recommendation regarding Bakija’s job duties, as he wasn’t knowledgeable about the business.

YRC management believed Bakija was seeking accommodation but it didn’t feel he needed it. In the investigation hearing, Bakija said that he was an independent contractor and management had no authority over him. He added that he needed time to drive single and exercise every day, which he couldn’t do on team driving because he was either driving or laying down.

YRC placed Bakija out of service indefinitely and Bakija responded that management “singlehandedly caused all of this and the company will be out a lot of money” because of them.

YRC allowed Bakija to temporarily transfer to the “B” driver board where he could drive single runs until a co-driver could be found. Bakija eventually transferred back the “A” double-driver board in June 2019 and accepted a co-driver. This arrangement lasted for three months until the new co-driver resigned. YRC offered Bakija a replacement co-driver, but Bakija refused as he felt the driver wasn’t experienced enough. The proposed co-driver was a new Canadian with experience driving transport overseas but Bakija was worried he wouldn’t be able to rest when an inexperienced partner was driving.

On Sept. 26, YRC terminated Bakija’s employment for insubordination stemming from multiple refusals to follow instructions consistent with company requirements.

The arbitrator noted that Bakija returned to work after his heart attack without medical restrictions and didn’t request accommodation. He returned to a two-driver team without incident and only raised his medical requirements after his partner resigned and he wanted to drive single runs.

The arbitrator found that Bakija wasn’t excluded from appropriate positions that he was qualified to do — two-driver express runs — and he was seeking an accommodation without proper medical justification in order to get a preferred assignment. In addition, his attitude towards management generally was “inappropriate, belligerent and threatening,” which was conduct deserving of discipline, said the arbitrator.

However, the arbitrator also found that YRC management adopted a confrontational attitude that helped provoke Bakija’s behaviour. It didn’t believe accommodation was necessary before getting medical information and adopted a hard line against a driver with long service and an unblemished driving record.

The arbitrator determined that termination was excessive. YRC was ordered to reinstate Bakija with an unpaid suspension on his record. In addition, the arbitrator recommended giving Bakija and his new partner a shorter run to help determine if he could get the regular rest and exercise he needed.