FPSLREB Decisions

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) terminated the grievor, for disciplinary reasons – it alleged that her negligence resulted in a loss of duties that it could have imposed against a company for the importation of certain products in excess of $25 000 000 – the Board found that nothing indicated that the grievor fulfilled her responsibilities negligently – it concluded that the employer did not prove misconduct or that the termination of her employment was warranted or for cause – the employer’s disciplinary process was profoundly untimely – it failed to investigate the allegations, which the Board found was compounded in that the person who led the disciplinary process was directly implicated in the company’s file in much the same way as was the grievor, but their oversight and override exceeded hers – almost all the lost duties happened after she had left and the other executive was in charge – the employer’s failure to investigate also shielded others from liability and did not determine the true reasons for what happened with the lost duties – the Board determined that an award at the high end of the typical range of aggravated damages was appropriate, in the amount of $35 000 – the Board also found that the employer’s bad faith in the disciplinary process merited an award of punitive damages, to punish it – when it calculated the appropriate sum of punitive damages, the Board considered the deliberate, callous, sustained, and bad-faith nature of the employer’s conduct in terminating the grievor – it made an award at the higher end of the range, in the amount of $75 000.

Grievance allowed.
Reinstatement, damages, and interest awarded.

(Please note that this decision will be published when it is available in both official languages. If you wish to obtain a copy of the decision in the official language it was written, please communicate with mail.courrier@fpslreb-crtespf.gc.ca.)