Interactions not considered bullying or harassment
Shouting matches between a B.C. trucking company worker and a supervisor were a common sight at one workplace, but one day the worker became a little too animated for the company’s liking.
Forshner Brothers/Horsman Trucking operated a logging truck business out of Gibsons, B.C. One senior driver, Marcel Sipkes, didn’t get along well with the safety supervisor, Laura Snoek. They often had disagreements, particularly over the dispatch of junior drivers over senior drivers.
Snoek at one point told Sipkes that if he was unhappy, he should go work elsewhere and Sipkes felt he was targeted because he was a vocal advocate on behalf of the union.
Part of a driver’s daily duties was to complete a daily log sheet. Past practice was for drivers to place their completed paperwork in a slot on the ground floor of the worksite.
However, in October 2018, Snoek asked drivers to submit their paperwork directly to her in her upstairs office so she could look at it immediately.
On Nov. 2, Sipkes was completing his paperwork at the end of the day when Snoek told him to bring it to her office. He said he would do so when it was finished. However, when he started up the stairs after completing the paperwork, he noticed the office light was out and another employee told him Snoek had just left. Sipkes decided to place the paperwork in the slot as per past practice.
The next morning, Snoek thought Sipkes had intentionally refused to follow her directions. A few days later, she issued a “third written notice” to Sipkes under the progressive discipline policy and cited his failure to complete work orders for repairs to a truck — though Sipkes was known to be thorough on work orders and no other employee had been disciplined for failing to complete them.
On Dec. 7, Snoek and Sipkes had a heated conversation with profanity. They had another argument three days later over a junior employee being dispatched instead of Sipkes, during which Sipkes poked his finger in Snoek’s face. Snoek twice told him to get his finger out of her face.
Snoek reported the two incidents to the company’s owner, who decided to terminate Sipkes’ employment on Dec. 11 for bullying and harassment by “yelling, swearing and calling names” during the arguments with Snoek and having to be told to get his hands away from her.
However, the arbitrator found that the third written notice was inappropriate, as Sipkes took reasonable steps to hand in the paperwork as Snoek had instructed. Once Snoek left the office, he was unable to follow the new procedure and reasonably reverted to the previous procedure.
There was no attempt to defy Snoek or refuse her directions that would justify discipline, said the arbitrator, who also noted that there was no evidence Sipkes had failed to fill out work orders for repairs.
The arbitrator also found there was no cause for termination. The collective agreement didn’t define bullying and harassment and the B.C. Workers Compensation Act refers to actions that humiliate or intimidate. The two arguments leading up to Sipke’s termination were not out of the ordinary, as they frequently engaged in yelling and swearing matches, often initiated by Snoek, and no one took steps to discourage these interactions.
However, there was one action that crossed the line — Sipkes’ finger in Snoek’s face, found the arbitrator. This “went beyond the regular conduct” of their arguments into threat of physical contact, though the evidence indicated Sipkes didn’t intend any harm and Snoek wasn’t intimidated. This “single, brief transgression” provided just cause for discipline, said the arbitrator.
ForshnerBrothers/Horsman Trucking was ordered to reinstate Sipkes with a three-day suspension on his record.
Reference: Forshner Brothers Trucking Ltd. and USW, Local 1-1937 (Sipkes). Jessica Gregory — arbitrator. Laura Snoek for employer. Jonathan Hanvelt for employee. June 28, 2019. 2019 CarswellBC 2630
