Supervisor Properly Fired for Concealing Exposure of Workers to Asbestos

A supervisor was fired for not following proper procedure for dealing with asbestos, thus exposing his crew to this hazardous substance when they removed gaskets containing asbestos, and for trying to conceal his error about the gaskets. An arbitrator upheld the dismissal. The supervisor made a mistake in not properly identifying the gaskets as asbestos. He then engaged in a course of conduct specifically designed to conceal this mistake. This conduct not only impeded the investigation of a complaint about the gasket removal but also exposed workers to harm. His misconduct was serious and the potential harm significant and thus provided just cause for his dismissal, concluded the arbitrator [Ontario Power Generation v. Power Workers’ Union, [2014] CanLII 46738 (ON LA), Aug. 5, 2014].