"You're Re-Hired!": Lessons From Hydro One

Terminating an employee is rarely an easy decision. Even after the employer makes the decision, complications can arise. While the phrase "You're Re-Hired!" isn't said very often, as Ontario Crown corporation Hydro One discovered recently (and probably much to its dismay), it can, and occasionally does, happen.

In May 2015, an individual spectator at a Toronto FC game attracted national media attention for the obscene remarks he made on the air to a female journalist working the game. Many in social media castigated him. He was also identified as a Hydro One employee earning a six-figure salary. It had been a year since the Rob Ford debacle but the issue of whether an employee could, and should, be terminated for off-duty conduct was once again in the news.