Ever Want to Punch Someone in the Face at Work? Here’s What Happened When Someone Did

Wade had worked as a lubrication technician for a large company in the oilsands in Alberta for almost 15 years. He had no history of discipline and had always been a good and valued employee.

At a team meeting one morning, the supervisor was critical of Wade for not filling the grease at the lubrication stations on his previous shift. Wade thought another co-worker, Shaun, should have done it and in the team meeting said, “If you put the right people on the job, then the job would get done.”

Shaun, of course, was not well pleased at this criticism in front of the boss and other co-workers. Shaun had not been at the meeting but heard about Wade’s words from several others.

The next day, Shaun found Wade in the lunchroom to explain that the grease was not topped up because the compressor required was broken. He also asked Wade to take any concerns he had with his work directly to him and not talk about it in team meetings. Things heated up, and Wade started to add to his criticisms of Shaun. Shaun decided the discussion was going nowhere and as he got up to walk out he called Wade a “manchild.”

Wade lost it. He followed Shaun out of the trailer, gave him a few choice words and then, Shaun claimed, punched him in the chin. When the matter was investigated and Wade was asked to fill out a witness statement, all he talked about was that Shaun had verbally attacked him in the lunchroom.

Shaun’s witness statement conceded that he had called Wade a manchild, but also detailed the incident outside where he claimed Wade punched him.

Both Wade and Shaun were suspended pending further investigation.

Shaun went home and got his wife to take a picture of where his lip had been cut.

The employer obtained video of the incident from a security camera which showed Wade throwing a punch, but did not show it landing. It showed Shaun’s head suddenly going backwards.

A witness indicated he saw the incident, including Wade throwing the punch, but did not see whether it landed.

When Wade was interviewed, he admitted going after Shaun outside the lunchroom, but said he just put his fist on Shaun’s chin and told him he would knock his teeth out. He claimed that he had touched, but not punched, him.

After almost 15 years of clean work history, Wade was terminated without notice. He was in a union and grieved the termination.

When the matter finally went to arbitration, Wade was contrite. He thought he had not lived up to the standards he tried to instil in his children. He apologized to Shaun, but tried to argue it wasn’t really a punch but an uppercut. On cross-examination, he finally admitted that an uppercut is a punch. This was, of course, different than the story he told when the matter was first investigated.

I would pause to note that in any non-unionized workplace, this claim would likely never have been brought. Workplace violence is one of the great taboos, next to theft or dishonesty. Even an isolated incident will usually lead to a termination and most employment lawyers would tell the employee not to spend their money trying to get a severance package.

Wade’s almost 15 years of service with a clean record did mean something. The arbitrator considered the situation as one that happened in the spur of the moment. Wade’s goal in grieving the termination was to reduce the capital punishment of termination to some sort of suspension without pay and reinstatement. He did not succeed.

An important part of the arbitrator’s decision was that Wade was not honest in his witness statement or in the interviews immediately following the incident and only very belatedly, at the arbitration, took responsibility for his actions and apologized. It was too little, too late.

The employer had clear workplace violence policies and an obligation to protect the safety of other employees. If Wade had been honest and contrite from the beginning, he may very well have saved his job.

This article was originally published by The Hamilton Spectator.