In June 2010,
Bill 168 introduced significant amendments to
the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) as it
relates to violence in the workplace. As one of the first decisions
to deal with the Bill 168 amendments in detail, Arbitrator Elaine
Newman's award in Kingston (City) v. Canadian Union of Public
Employees, Local 109 underscores the new
obligations of employers in responding to threats made in the
workplace. Arbitrator Newman upheld an employer's decision to
terminate an employee for making a death threat to a co-worker, and
found that employers must react to workplace threats in much the
same way that they would react to workplace violence.
Facts
The grievor was a 47 year old employee with 28 years of
seniority. In the years prior to the incident, the grievor's
employment relationship had been punctuated by a history of some
tension and anger, including past warnings for arguing with and
shouting at a supervisor, and angrily confronting a co-worker.
