Distracted Driving Policy – Termination

[Rory Lodge]

#102795

From the province of Ontario and an industry where most employees work alone from a vehicle, we suspect there are many more distracted driving collisions than are proven distraction is a factor or cause. However, we are looking at the feasibility of updating the Distracted Driving Policy to allow for termination if an employee has been found guilty of distracted driving. The existing progressive discipline policy relating to HS allows a written warning for first offence through suspensions and finally termination at a 4th offence. 

With the intent to demonstrate the seriousness of the policy, and knowing that our stats indicate a bad driver or one that has collisions is more likely to have more collisions, could we move to termination on that first offence for distracted driving’
The concern against doing this would be opening ourselves up to a wrongful dismissal case since the offense of distracted driving alone may not suspend or revoke the employee’s ability to drive within the province. We are more concerned about the consequences of collisions. We also want to send a strong signal and be sure our drivers deserve to be on the road for us.

[Jeffrey Turner]

#103249

Short answer: It depends.
First and foremost, keep in mind that while case law applies, the terms of progressive discipline policies are dictated by negotiation. This is especially true if the policy applies to union employees, in which case it would likely be incorporated into the collective agreement. But the fact that you’re asking this question suggests that this is NOT a union situation.
If there’s no union to contend with and the disciplinary policies and procedures are set by management rather than negotiated with employees, we’re looking at case law. The starting point is the general rule that a single offence MAY BE grounds for immediate termination, even if it’s a first offence. Stated differently, some offences are so egregious that you’re allowed to bypass the prior stages of the progressive discipline policy. The question is whether distracted driving qualifies as one of those offences. Although I haven’t researched the case law, my sense is that it’s not–unless driving is the employees’ primary duty, e.g., a bus or taxi driver. The more people the employees drive, the greater the safety imperative and the stronger the justification for making distracted driving fire-able as a first offence. But without knowing more about your company and its operations, I can’t provide anything like a definitive answer.
One final thing: Should you decide to make distracted driving grounds for immediate termination, you must clearly spell this out in your progressive disciplinary policy. If you’re making a policy change, you must go out of your way to alert affected employees of the change. And, of course, if your employees belong to a union, you’ll need to secure union agreement to the change.
Hope that helps. Glenn

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