A recent decision out of British Columbia highlights a common
pitfall when employers terminate employees for cause: failing to
thoroughly and proactively investigate the facts and circumstances
regarding the alleged misconduct or neglect of duty.
In
Tymco v. 4-D Enterprises, 2018 BCSC 372, (PDF)
the employer terminated an employee with six years of service after
a railcar, which the employee was responsible for guiding,
derailed. As a switchman, the employee was responsible for, among
other things, monitoring the railcar and advising the operator over
a wireless radio when to activate the railcar's brakes.
On this particular occasion, the railcar did not brake when it
should have, crashed into a warehouse, and derailed another train,
causing significant damage. The reasons why the railcar's
brakes were not activated were disputed.
