Employer alleges negligence of duties, reckless actions by worker at steel mill
When an Alberta steel mill operator left her post to use the washroom after restarting the production line, a piece of steel managed to enter the line and cause severe damage, requiring the bar mill be shut down and production halted.
As a result, AltaSteel fired the individual. The company alleged that she was negligent in her duties by leaving her post and failing to detect a cold billet despite multiple opportunities to detect the problem and act before the damage occurred. The employer also alleged her actions were reckless and showed disregard for the safety of her co-workers
However, on Feb. 13, 2026, arbitrator Mark Asbell disagreed, overturning the termination and ordering reinstatement with compensation.
Verbal or written guidelines?
Ashley Gott had worked at AltaSteel since 2006 and became a fully qualified pulpit operator in April 2022. On May 24, 2023, after clearing a cobble from the finishing stands, she restarted the mill and ran to the washroom. She says she was very quick. However, a cold steel billet entered the line and caused severe damage to Stand 2.
Gott had previously logged washroom delays in the production system as required by written procedure. But she testified the director of operations personally called her and told her not to stop the line for washroom breaks. Management said they did not recall that conversation.
Asbell believed her. "Being called by the director of operations about your washroom breaks is no doubt memorable," he wrote.
The union's vice president, also a millwright at AltaSteel, confirmed that other pulpit operators followed the same practice of not stopping the line for washroom breaks, and the employer offered no evidence to contradict it.
Investigation focuses on grievor
AltaSteel collected five witness statements from crew members and their supervisor. None were interviewed. Only the pulpit operator was questioned, across two meetings. No safety investigation was conducted, despite the collective agreement containing robust health and safety language that, as Asbell noted, "appears to dictate an investigation."
The employer's investigation failed to examine whether poor procedures, system deficiencies or inadequate training contributed to the incident. Asbell was unsparing: "The 'investigation' focused only on the grievor. No other crew members were interviewed and no safety investigation was conducted to examine whether there were contributing factors like poor procedures, system deficiencies or inadequate training."
The absence of a safety investigation undermined the employer's own position. If the incident was as serious as AltaSteel claimed, a proper investigation would have followed, found Asbell.
Suspension instead of dismissal
The pulpit operator was immediately forthcoming. When the bar mill manager arrived at the scene, she told him directly: "I fucked up and pushed a cold billet through the mill." She volunteered that she had been in the washroom. Asbell found she had admitted her errors without reservation.
He also found her seven years of service, clean safety record, and genuine remorse weighed heavily. "There is no reason to believe progressive discipline would not have addressed the employer's concerns," Asbell wrote.
The termination was set aside and replaced with a five 12-hour shift suspension. AltaSteel was ordered to reinstate the pulpit operator with full compensation, including wages, benefits and pension contributions from the date of termination to the date of reinstatement, less five 12-hour shifts' pay and any amounts earned in mitigation.
