A Saskatchewan casino employee, who had been with the Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation for 21 years, was terminated for a $34 incident. .Despite the arbitrator acknowledging that it was “an isolated incident,” the firing was upheld..“I must decide credibility questions, not duck them,” wrote Andrew Sims, the arbitrator in the case. .“Casinos and bars, like hotels and grocery stores, fall into that category of vulnerable employers where a breach of trust is particularly significant. In cases of intentional theft, the value of the stolen property or the benefit taken does not negate the offence nor is it often significant as a mitigating factor.”.According to Blacklock’s Reporter, evidence showed the Casino Regina employee in 2021 booked show tickets to have family and friends attend an Alan Jackson concert but deleted the federal sales tax and a $2.50 per ticket facility fee. .“The GST and transaction fees had been waived from the ticket purchases resulting in a reported loss to SaskGaming of $34,” wrote Sims..“The casino has a document entitled Casino Regina Box Office Manual. It is dated 2022 but appears to be an update of an earlier and similar manual. The table of contents includes in bold print, ‘Never Sell Tickets to Yourself.’”.“The employer treats theft as a very serious infraction and legitimately sees a transaction of this nature, individually made in unsupervised circumstances, as a serious breach of trust,” added Sims. .The Public Service Alliance of Canada objected to the termination, arguing it was excessively severe..“She was fully familiar with its processes,” wrote Sims. .“The casino routinely puts on entertainment events. A significant part of her job was to sell tickets to these events to customers coming to her desk or to persons phoning in.”.“Arbitrators have long recognized that certain types of employers are more vulnerable to theft in its various forms than others,” wrote Sims. .“Grocery stores are the most often cited example, but they are not alone, and bars and casinos are usually viewed in much the same way.”.In other cases, labour arbitrators have reversed terminations for minor amounts. For instance, a grocery clerk from Prince Albert, SK, who was dismissed in 2019 for underpaying $1.80 due to incorrectly coding a half-dozen flaxseed rolls that she intended to take home for supper, was rehired. She “made a mistake and was not stealing the buns,” an arbitrator wrote in the case..In 2021, an arbitrator reversed the termination of a University of Saskatchewan janitor who had been fired for violating the campus Fraud Deterrence Policy by keeping $2 worth of cleaning rags..“I will never make a mistake again,” the janitor wrote in a letter of apology to his supervisor. .“Please believe me that I am so sorry about this. I cannot sleep because of my mistake.”
