For a long time, there hasn't been any debate about an
employer's right to use temporary suspension without pay as a
disciplinary measure. There have been many decisions dealing with
administrative suspension, however. The question continues to be
relevant: can an employer who, to protect his business's
interests, administratively suspends an employee accused of a crime
until there is a verdict, avoid the obligation to pay the
employee's salary if the employee remains available for work
that he or she is denied the opportunity to perform? What if the
employee is accused of crimes involving actions taken in the
performance of his or her duties?
In a recent decision, the Quebec Court of Appeal determined that
the administrative suspension without pay of a police officer
accused of a criminal offence committed in the performance of his
duties had to be changed to a suspension with pay.1
