Arbitration: The Case of Bradley Ennis

Arbitration: The Case of Bradley Ennis

A Brief Overview of the Case: Some important facts

Bradley Ennis (now 45 years old) was a registered nurse employed in the trauma unit of All Saints' Hospital on May 1, 1992

The hospital has a three point performance rating system: needs improvement, satisfactory performance and superior performance. Ennis' performance had been rated as 'satisfactory' while for his last three years it was rated as 'superior'.

Responsibilities of Ennis: monitoring patient care, administering potentially lethal drugs, monitoring patient regimes and counseling patients and their families concerning care options.

Received the certificate of trauma specialist in 1995 and maintained it ever since.

Verbally counseled for absenteeism on January 27, 2008, two written warnings on July 23, 2008 and October 15, 2008.

Ennis was terminated on December 3, 2008 following a three day leave of absence without permission.

Letter of discharge states the termination reason to be failing to call in sick as well as excessive absenteeism (which was 17.5 against hospital average of 7%).

According to Ennis' counselor, Dr. Cooper, it was the unexpected death of Ennis's five year old daughter that initiated these attendance issues and led him to rely on sleeping pills to cope.

Ennis sought treatment of the drug (sleeping pills) and alcohol addiction and has been in and out of counseling since March 2009.

Between March 2009 and the time of the arbitration hearing (February 25, 2010) he had three major relapses in which he stopped attending the counseling sessions.

Management was unaware of his treatment for addiction at the time of his dismissal.

Ennis's addiction counselor is of the view that he has 80% chance of remaining chemical free for the next few years. He believes he has recovered from the shock and can maintain an acceptable attendance and performance record in the position that he held.

Out of the other employees working in the hospital, only one out of 45 has an absenteeism issue and rate greater than 10 percent (13 percent) but that nurse has never been given a warning of any kind.

Union's Arguments

The union is set to formally carry out the grievance for the employee in question. The case involves discipline and discharge on the grounds of excessive absenteeism.

According to the article 32.1 of the collective agreement, for the management to discipline employees they must have a just cause. Arbitrator Carrol R. Daugherty has identified seven basic elements or tests to analyze whether a disciplinary action was a just cause. These include reasonable rule, notice, sufficient investigation, fair investigation, proof, equal treatment and appropriate discipline (www.citehr.com). Considering these elements in accordance with the facts of the case will give a clear picture of whether it was a just cause from the employer's end to dismiss Bradley.

The employer is required to give a forewarning (notice) of the possible or probable consequences of the employee's disciplinary conduct which is also stated in the Article 32.2 of the Collective Agreement. According to the article, the hospital and the union are in agreement ...