Incident caught on video
A schoolyard fight with a student led to the discharge of a Toronto District School Board (TDSB) employee.
On Sept. 25, 2012, Sylvia Hatzantonis picked up her 13-year-old daughter from school. Hatzantonis found her daughter crying and determined there had been an altercation with another student, referred to as EM.
Hatzantonis confronted EM. That confrontation was recorded by one of the student spectators. In the video, Hatzantonis can be seen shouting at EM, swearing at EM and calling him and his mother vulgar names and telling EM she works for the TDSB, saying she could find out information about him.
The employer launched an investigation after it became aware of the video, which was posted online.
Hatzantonis was criminally charged in relation to the video. Following the completion of two anger management courses and the payment of a fine, the charges against her were dropped in May 2013.
Following the employer’s investigation, Hatzantonis was dismissed in June 2013. Her termination cited comment and conduct inconsistent with that expected of TDSB employees, attempting to conceal her conduct by counselling others to provide false evidence and dishonesty and breach of trust during the employer’s investigation.
Several students who witnessed the altercation were interviewed in the course of the employer’s investigation. Several of the students said Hatzantonis asked them to write witness statements that would cast her in a positive light. In exchange, the students would be treated to whatever they wanted at McDonald’s.
Hatzantonis admitted she asked the students for witness statements on the advice of her lawyer, in the context of the criminal charges. She denied she attempted to influence the contents of the letters, though she admitted she treated the students to whatever they wanted at McDonald’s in exchange for the statements.
The employer argued this request was an attempt on Hatzantonis’ part to conceal her conduct and constituted counselling the students to provide false evidence.
Furthermore, the employer argued Hatzantonis was dishonest during its own investigation. When asked to describe the incident, Hatzantonis denied ever touching or threatening EM in any way. She also denied the use of vulgar language.
After reviewing the video during the interview, Hatzantonis said she had forgotten the details of the event.
Hatzantonis’ union, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 4400, grieved the dismissal.
The union argued the altercation occurred when she was off duty, and the TDSB has no jurisdiction or authority over what employees do in their private lives unless it can show a material connection between employees’ off-duty conduct and their employment.
Arbitrator Tanja Wacyk considered several mitigating circumstances relating to the altercation. Hatzantonis’ conduct was triggered by her protective instincts as a parent, Wacyk said, and occurred outside of her employment. Additionally, Hatzantonis was a long-time employee with a discipline-free employment record.
However, Wacyk found Hatzantonis’ actions were compounded by her continued dishonesty in both her attempt to influence the testimony of the student witnesses and during the employer’s investigation.
This continued dishonesty, Wacyk said, constituted "a breakdown of the employment relationship, and precludes substituting a lesser form of discipline."
The grievance was dismissed and the discharge was upheld.
Reference: Toronto District School Board and the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 4400. Tanja Wacyk — arbitrator. Patricia G. Murray for the employer, Tim Gleason for the union. May 6, 2015.
