FPSLREB Decisions

The grievor was given a three-day disciplinary suspension for harassment, which was then reduced to two days – he sent messages to another employee indicating that he was attracted or attached to her, inviting her to coffee or a movie, writing that he wanted to take her to India, and stating that she was the friend that he had been waiting for his whole life – when the employee replied that she would never go to a movie with him because they had a professional relationship, the grievor apologized – the employee then made a complaint with her manager, and the grievor was instructed not to contact her – however, he subsequently contacted her and invited her to meet with him, which, following an investigation, was determined to be harassment – the grievor maintained that this last communication was not improper and that it was misunderstood – the Board found that his position was not credible – he also claimed that he was not responsible for the conduct because he had been depressed and could not control his emotions – while some documentation was provided about some medical assessments, the Board found that it did not address the grievor’s behaviour or mental health at or about the time of the events to establish that a medical condition or disability was a factor in his behaviour or the resulting discipline – having found that misconduct occurred, the Board turned to whether the two-day suspension was excessive in the circumstances – it assessed the disciplinary penalty against the different factors concerning the grievor, the employer, and the incident and determined that the two-day suspension was not excessive.

Grievance denied.