Over the course of 28 months, a company that manufactures auto body components disciplined a co-extrusion worker for nine different incidents, including three safety infractions. For example, the worker challenged a co-worker to a fight, showed up for work while under the influence of alcohol and spilled a lubricant on the floor and under three production lines. The company finally fired him without notice or wages in lieu of notice. The worker sued for wrongful dismissal. The court dismissed the lawsuit. It ruled that these incidents weren’t minor or “trifling transgressions.” Each one was documented and involved threats to workplace safety, line stoppages or acts of misconduct. Cumulatively, the incidents of “continued carelessness” amounted to just cause, concluded the court [Daley v. Depco International Inc.].
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