Reference no: EM133306929

Assignment: Mr. S was a helicopter mechanic who had been working for the Employer for 15 months when he was dismissed for cause due to his inappropriate behaviour in the presence of a safety auditor. In the helicopter maintenance business, customers regularly send auditors to their maintenance contractors to ensure that proper safety and maintenance protocols are being followed. When Mr. S was questioned by an auditor about an uncalibrated tool and unlabelled bottles at his work station, Mr. S became annoyed and threw the tool and bottles in the garbage. Because the auditor was from one of the Employer's main customers, the President was furious when he heard about Mr. S's behaviour, despite the fact that the auditor was not particularly upset about the interaction and the audit result was generally positive. The President directed that Mr. S be fired the next day and asked the Human Resources Manager to arrange for it. Mr. S was brought to a meeting, told he was being fired for cause, and was given paperwork to review, including a release. Mr. S had previously signed a "training bond" in which he promised to repay certain training costs if his employment ended before a certain date. In his termination documents, the Employer offered to waive repayment by Mr. S in exchange for a final release of all claims. Mr. S read the documents and signed them on the spot. The whole meeting took 15 minutes. Despite having signed the release, Mr. S sued for wrongful dismissal, claiming he was entitled
to six months' pay in lieu of notice.

• Did the employer prove just cause?
• Was the discipline (termination) appropriate for the misconduct?
• Are there any mitigating factors?
• Is the release Mr. S signed enforceable?