Worker Didn’t Try to Fraudulently Get Prescription Safety Glasses for Wife

Under the collective agreement, workers and their families had a vision care plan for prescription glasses, which also provided prescription safety glasses for workers only. A worker’s spouse filled out a form for prescription safety glasses in her own name. When the employer got the invoice, it suspended the worker for three days for fraud. The union filed a grievance, arguing that the worker had made an innocent mistake. The arbitrator noted that the form was issued in the worker’s name and his spouse changed it without his knowledge. He didn’t take any steps to hide these actions because he mistakenly thought she was eligible for such glasses. Because the worker just made an error and didn’t commit fraud, he shouldn’t have been disciplined, concluded the arbitrator [Tenneco v. United Steelworkers, Local No. 2894 (Teska Grievance), [2014] O.L.A.A. No. 387, Nov. 6, 2014].