Smoking in freezer serious enough for 10-day suspension
A Saskatchewan grocery store worker’s 10-day suspension for smoking marijuana at work was reasonable even if it was a first offence, an arbitration board has ruled.
Jesse Hanson, 29, was a food clerk in the grocery department of a Saskatoon Co-op store. On Oct. 24, 2018, a coworker found the door to the freezer partly open. He noticed Hanson inside, which he felt was odd because her job duties didn’t require her to go inside the freezer unless asked for help.
Hanson exited the freezer and when the coworker entered, he noticed a strong smell of marijuana. The smell hadn’t been there earlier and it was so strong that the coworker couldn’t work in the freezer for the rest of the day.
Hanson explained that she was looking for a pack of bacon that the meat department had left for her. The coworker hadn’t seen any bacon and Hanson didn’t have any when she left. He didn’t smell anything on Hanson or see any smoke or drugs.
The coworker was concerned about safety, since the freezer had large steel shelves with product stacked high. He went to the store manager, who also smelled marijuana in the freezer. The coworker was asked to provide a statement, as Co-op’s employee handbook prohibited using or being under the influence of drugs or alcohol during working hours.
The manager reviewed surveillance video that showed Hanson entering the freezer and staying for 52 seconds. She stayed near the open doorway, appearing to watch until the coworker returned.
The manager talked to Hanson and she insisted that although she used marijuana regularly on her own time, she would never consume it at work. She said she might have passed gas because “maybe she had a brownie the day before.” She maintained it wasn’t her and said again that she was looking for bacon, but the store manager checked and found Hanson had not made any bacon purchase.
Later that day, Hanson approached the coworker and asked him why he would “say something like that” and “throw me under the bus?” She didn’t offer any explanation on why the smell was there.
The coworker made a second statement emphasizing that he had apologized to Hanson and he hadn’t seen her with anything. He said the only reason he mentioned her was because she happened to be in the freezer when he first noticed the smell.
However, Co-op decided to suspend Hanson for 10 shifts. At the suspension meeting, Hanson became upset and said no one suggested to her that she had shown signs of impairment at the time. She said she hadn’t smelled any marijuana herself but acknowledged that she went in the freezer to text a friend on her cellphone, which was against the store’s rules.
The arbitration board found that Hanson didn’t have a legitimate reason to be in the freezer and her initial explanation that she passed gas wasn’t credible. Since there was no one else nearby and both the coworker and manager smelled marijuana, the “only one probable conclusion” was that Hanson had smoked marijuana in the freezer, said the board.
The board also found that Hanson knew that smoking marijuana at work was a serious rule violation and presented a risk to Co-op’s workplace safety and reputation if customers smelled or saw it, so the suspension was appropriate. The board added that such circumstances often result in termination of employment.
“Principles of progressive discipline do not require an employer to begin with the least significant penalty for a first offence where the offence is serious,” said the board in dismissing the grievance. “Furthermore, the employer has clearly set out in its employee handbook that introduction or use of inhibiting drugs in the workplace is a major rule violation warranting suspension or discipline.”
Reference: UFCW, Local 1400 and Saskatoon Co-operative Association. Anne Wallace — chair. Kevin Wilson for employer. Heath Smith for employee. Oct. 15, 2020. 2020 CarswellSask 510
