Court cites 'very significant misconduct' of employee with HR background
The Superior Court of Justice in Ontario recently dealt with a manager’s claim that she was wrongfully dismissed after she failed to report her own workplace accident as required by the employer’s policy.
Shari Lagala, the Health, Safety, and Training Manager for employer Patene Building Supplies Ltd., found herself terminated after over 13 years of service on December 18, 2019.
The primary reason cited for her dismissal was her handling (or lack thereof) of a workplace safety and insurance claim she filed with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) following an alleged fall in the company's Brantford facility parking lot on March 28, 2019.
The employer said that rather than promptly reporting the incident to her supervisors, Lagala initiated a WSIB claim herself, which later drew the attention of Patene's President, Patrick George. A subsequent investigation led to George losing trust in Lagala, resulting in her termination for cause.
Manager’s HR background
Lagala, aged 56 at the time of trial, had a background in Human Resources (HR) and had served as Patene's Health, Safety, and Training Manager since April 24, 2006.
The employer, Patene Building Supplies, established in 1955, operates across Ontario and is part of a larger group controlled by the George family. Lagala's responsibilities included ensuring compliance with legislation, accident investigation, and formulating health and safety policies.
Lagala's termination stemmed from her alleged slip and fall in March 2019, which she did not report immediately, citing "embarrassment" due to her managerial role. The employer and George argued that her subsequent handling of the incident, delayed reporting, and discrepancies in witness statements led to a loss of trust, resulting in her dismissal for cause.
‘Too embarrassed to report’
According to records, the manager claimed that this injury took place on or about March 28, 2019. She also claimed that she was “too embarrassed to report the injury to her supervisors.”
However, the court found that she was being “untruthful” with her account to George and to the court about reporting the incident to a co-worker and even “attempted to use her relationship with [the latter], and the influence it gave her over him, to conceal [the truth] and convince both George and the court that she had reported this accident in a timely way.”
“This is very significant misconduct that might, on its own, be sufficient to support the employer’s decision to terminate [her] employment for cause,” the court added.
‘Conflict of interest’
“[The manager’s] failure to report this accident in any way until October 2nd, 2019, after the WSIB had allowed her claim, was a breach of the employer’s policies on accident reporting.”
“[She] knew, or ought to have known, that reporting, as the employer’s representative, an accident that she had suffered would put her interests in clear conflict with the interests of the [company.]”
“She would be interested in obtaining benefits from the claim, while the [employer] would want a full investigation into the claim, particularly given the inconsistencies in [her] reporting. This is a classic conflict of interest that any manager who works in the human resources field should have been able to see,” the court said.
“The fact that [she] was prepared to put herself in this conflict, while denying that it was a conflict, is a significant reason why the [employer] was correct to have lost confidence in [her],” the court added. Thus, it dismissed her claim of wrongful dismissal against the employer.