‘If punishment less than termination would be reasonable… that will likely be substituted’
May 06, 2025
A long-term employee whose conduct made his female co-workers uncomfortable deserved discipline but not dismissal, the Canada Industrial Relations Board has ruled.
The worker joined the airline WestJet in 1998, moving up through several positions and receiving positive performance reviews. He had no discipline on his record. In 2008, he took an advisor position in a specialized department that planned for contingencies that could affect WestJet and its customers.
The worker grew up in an environment in which his family was open about many topics and didn’t follow traditional male-female boundaries. His father was a physician who talked about medical issues such as pregnancy, childbirth, and other medical issues. As a result, the worker was comfortable broaching these subjects in conversations with others, including co-workers.
The department was small and close-knit, and the worker was close with a co-worker who had another job assisting pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. The worker would often speak about the birthing process and breast development in girls with her and other colleagues. However, the co-worker and other female employees felt that the worker’s fascination with these topics was weird and off-putting. They also had issues with his personal hygiene, as he had body odour and picked at his own skin – the latter being a manifestation of ADHD.
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