OK to Fire Employee for Threatening to Give Co-Worker Black Eye

An arbitrator upheld termination for threatening and using inappropriate language with a co-worker. The co-worker did call the employee a “loudmouth,” the arbitrator acknowledged. But this was hardly provocation enough to justify the employee’s profanity-laced response and threat of physical violence. The employee had also been suspended for insubordination and disrespectful conduct shortly before the incident, the arbitrator added [Teck Coal Ltd. (Line Creek Operations) v. International Union of Operating Engineers, Local No. 115 (Graham Grievance), [2011] B.C.C.A.A.A. No. 135, Dec. 7, 2011].