Can an employer rely on misconduct it discovers
after terminating an employee to justify the
termination? In the recent case of Campbell v. Harrigan Rentals
and Equipment Ltd., 2013 BCSC 1813, the B.C. Supreme Court
answered yes.
In Campbell, an employee brought a wrongful dismissal
action when he was terminated from his employment without notice.
The B.C. Supreme Court upheld the employee's dismissal and
determined that the employer had cause to dismiss him - even though
the employer was not aware of those causes at the time of his
dismissal.
The employee, Mr. Campbell, was 69 years old at the time of his
dismissal and had been employed as a financial controller for 14
years at a salary of $60,000 per year. Campbell was responsible for
the employer's daily financial and accounting duties. The
employer's new owner discovered that Campbell had been using
his company gas card for his wife's car, and had remitted
claims for medical expenses on behalf of his wife who
