Written Warning Proper Discipline for Failing to Wear Seatbelt

A company’s safety rules required workers to wear seatbelts in moving company vehicles. After a supervisor claimed he saw a worker operating a vehicle without wearing a seatbelt, the employer suspended the worker for three days. But he filed a grievance, claiming he had been wearing the seatbelt while the vehicle was in motion. The arbitrator considered the conflicting versions of what had happened and concluded that the worker hadn’t been wearing his seatbelt. However, a written warning was sufficient discipline for this momentary lapse by a worker with a 33-year clean record [Rio Tinto Alcan Inc. v. Unifor, Local 2301 (Madsen Grievance), [2015] B.C.C.A.A.A. No. 8, Jan. 23, 2015].