Pushing Foreman from Platform Is Just Cause for Termination

A journeyman electrician was fired for pushing his foreman from a metal platform with stairs. He claimed self-defence but the Labour Relations Board didn’t buy it. The electrician, who also happened to have been one of the crew’s sub-foremen, violated the company’s workplace violence policy and did it in a dangerous location. He didn’t apologize and there was no indication he’d ever be able to work with the foreman again.  So the Board upheld dismissal even though it was the electrician’s first offence [Canadian Union of Skilled Workers v. Hydro One Inc., [2012] CanLII 23317 (ON LRB), May 3, 2012].