Speeding Past Stopped School Bus Is Just Cause to Terminate

A heavy truck driven by an Apprentice Powerline Technician ‘blew by’ a yellow school bus that had stopped to pick up a young girl. Witnesses, including one of the girl’s parents, were appalled and notified the APT’s employer, ultimately resulting in his termination. The Ontario arbitrator ruled that the employer had just cause to terminate and tossed the union’s grievance. Rather than apologizing for committing a serious traffic offence that endangered children, the APT falsely denied having seen the bus, even though its red stop lights were flashing and its horn was blasting. This behaviour coupled with the 3 speeding tickets he had racked up over the last 5 years justified the employer’s conclusion that it could no longer trust the APT to work safely [Power Workers’ Union v Halton Hills Hydro, 2021 CanLII 33012 (ON LA), April 19, 2021].