An employee at an isolated camp in the Northwest Territories who assaulted and threatened his supervisor was dismissed for just cause, an adjudicator has decided.
The employee was an equipment operator at a mine site.
The evidence was that the employee and supervisor got into an altercation “not directly related to work issues”. All witnesses said that the employee pushed the supervisor three times. Two witnesses said that the employee also threw a cup or bottle of water at the supervisor. Several coworkers were required to restrain the employee.
The day after the incident, the employee gave a statement in which he said, “. . . I didn’t make threats but I did make a promise. I know where the prick lives and we will see each other.” The employer fired him and claimed just cause.
The employee filed a claim for termination pay under the NWT Employment Standards Act. An Employment Standards Officer decided that he was dismissed for just cause and thus was not entitled to termination pay. The employee appealed, and an adjudicator agreed that he had been dismissed for just cause.
The adjudicator stated that the employee had agreed to the zero-tolerance violence policy and had disregarded that policy. The workplace was an isolated camp setting and the assault and further threats of violence were in clear violation of that policy. Although the employee claimed that his supervisor had not been treating him properly, there were other alternatives to violence.
Therefore, the adjudicator decided that the single incident of the assault and threats was just cause for dismissal.
I & D Management Services Ltd v Mercredi, 2013 CanLII 89793 (NWT LSB)
