Employee slashed co-worker and threatened him again
An arbitrator has upheld the firing of an Ontario worker who cut a co-worker with a knife in the workplace lunchroom.
The 57-year-old employee was a custodian for Firestone Textiles, a manufacturer of nylon resin and yarn in Woodstock, Ont. He worked for Firestone for 36 years through late 2013.
The custodian attended workplace harassment and violence training under Firestone’s Harassment, Bullying and Workplace Violence Policy, as was required for all employees.
On Sept. 28, 2013, the custodian was eating lunch with three co-workers in the employee lunchroom. One of the co-workers had a problem closing the lid on his plastic container, so he banged on it with his fists several times. This created a loud noise that got on the custodian’s nerves.
The custodian took out two utility knives which he carried while working and said to the co-worker, “Would you like the curved blade or the straight blade?” The co-worker, thinking it was a joke, started laughing. The custodian put away the curved blade and began swinging the utility knife with the straight blade under the table toward the co-worker’s legs, then swung it above the table towards the co-worker’s chest.
The co-worker stopped laughing and became alarmed at the custodian’s actions. He reached out to grab the custodian’s arm to stop him from swinging the knife, but he missed and the knife cut him on his forearm. The co-worker said “You got me!” and wiped the blood with his shirt. Fortunately for the co-worker, the cut was shallow.
The co-worker reported the incident to a supervisor and said he felt threatened, so the supervisor allowed him to go home. On his way out of the office, the co-worker came across the custodian again, who said “You are lucky I didn’t stab you in the heart.” When the co-worker reported this, the custodian was sent home pending investigation.
The co-worker’s wife called police after finding out about the incident and the custodian was charged with assault and uttering a threat. The custodian told police he had a physical condition aggravated by a low red blood cell count, and he “blew up in a fit of rage” at the co-worker.
When Firestone conducted an investigation, the custodian said the co-worker had said “come on, you can’t cut me, you are too slow” when he took out the knife to cut a wrapper on his lunch. The investigation determined this was a lie.
Firestone terminated the custodian’s employment on Oct. 4, 2013. A few days later, the custodian began counselling sessions and later an anger management counseling program. In late November, he pleaded guilty to the assault charges and was given a 12-month suspended sentence and mandatory anger management counselling.
The union grieved the dismissal, arguing the incident was an isolated outburst and, given the custodian’s age and years of service, termination was too harsh a punishment. The custodian regretted his actions and had taken counselling that would help ensure it wouldn’t happen again, said the union.
The arbitrator found there was no explanation or reason for the custodian’s outburst, which made it difficult to determine it wouldn’t happen again, even after he took anger management counselling. It was also sheer luck that the co-worker didn’t suffer a more serious injury than a shallow cut, said the arbitrator.
The arbitrator also found the custodian’s conduct following the incident didn’t show any remorse. He made another threatening remark to the co-worker when he encountered him later, which showed he hadn’t cooled off and didn’t feel apologetic. In addition, he lied to Firestone about the incident, showing a lack of remorse and a failure to take responsibility for his actions. This gave no reassurance that he wouldn’t do something similar if he was returned to work, said the arbitrator.
The arbitrator also noted the custodian was ordered to have no contact with the
co-worker when he was convicted. This would make it even more difficult to return him to work.
