Shift change, unsafe working conditions made it difficult to keep working: employees
This instalment of You Make the Call features a husband and wife who claimed their common employer forced them out of their jobs.
Ken and Sylvia Lawrence, 56 and 63, respectively, both worked for Norwood Industries, a company that sells unassembled portable sawmills in Oro-Medonte, Ont. Ken Lawrence was hired in April 1996 and worked in the company’s office and Sylvia Lawrence was hired in August 1996 to work in the warehouse.
Norwood hired a new warehouse manager in early 2012 to help address overcrowded conditions in the warehouse. Ken Lawrence sent an email in March to the senior officer over his concern that there was inadequate warehouse space.
In April, Norwood decided to move the start time for warehouse employees from 8:30 a.m. to 7 a.m. Sylvia Lawrence wasn’t happy about this and told the new warehouse manager that she wouldn’t start work earlier than 8:30 a.m. She arrived late for work on May 24 and told the manager that if she came in any earlier she would become ill.
The warehouse manager advised Norwood’s senior officer about Sylvia’s statements and that she had acted rudely to him. The same day, the manager instructed a lead hand to tell Sylvia that her attitude had to change. Sylvia didn’t think she had an attitude problem and said she had been employed with Norwood for “far longer than (the warehouse manager) and he could not tell her what to do.”
Later that day, the warehouse manager and lead hand met with Sylvia in the parking lot and gave her papers about parts missing from a shipment and a letter of reprimand for insubordination for her to sign, along with a memo regarding any medical concerns over coming to work earlier. Sylvia became upset and said she wouldn’t sign anything without reading it and taking time to think about it. Ken Lawrence overheard part of the conversation and also was upset.
The Lawrences discussed what had occurred and the work environment as a whole. They decided they couldn’t continue to work at Norwood.
The next Monday, May 28, Ken telephoned Norwood and spoke to the accountant/bookkeeper who was responsible for payroll and some HR functions. He said that he and his wife would not be returning to work and when the accountant asked why, Ken responded that it was none of her business and ended the conversation.
The Lawrences filed an action against Norwood claiming they were constructively dismissed based on conditions in the workplace and Ken's complaint about how crowded it was. They both claimd the warehouse was unsafe and unsanitary in addition to the crowded conditions.
You Make the Call
Was the couple constructively dismissed?
OR
Did the couple leave of their own accord?
If you said the Lawrences were not constructively dismissed and quit on their own, you’re right. The court accepted that Sylvia Lawrence believed she was being treated unfairly and was singled out by the new warehouse manager when she was given the letter of reprimand and resented his assertion of authority over her — as evidenced by her comment that he couldn’t tell her what to do. However, that comment and her rudeness towards him constituted insubordination that warranted the reprimand, said the court.
The court found that the conditions in the warehouse were “far from ideal” due to the overcrowding, but neither of the Lawrences raised concerns about unsafe or unsanitary conditions — Ken’s email was only about the crowded conditions. When Ken telephoned the company to say they had quit, he made no mention of the conditions in the warehouse. He also provided no evidence that anything had changed with his job and he didn’t work in the warehouse, so any safety concerns wouldn’t apply to him. It was more likely the decision not to return to work was the result of Sylvia’s reprimand – which wasn’t a justifiable reason to refuse to return to work, said the court.
The court determined there was nothing that a reasonable person would conclude that the Lawrences were constructively dismissed from their employment and it was the couple themselves who terminated the employment relationship. Their complaint was dismissed.
“I was provided with no authority in support of the proposition that a spouse is justified in treating his or her employment as constructively terminated as a result of the employer’s treatment of the other spouse,” the court said.
For more information see:
• Lawrence v. Norwood Industries Inc., 2016 CarswellOnt 14939 (Ont. S.C.J.).
