A federal labour board ruled that prison guards cannot be fired for sleeping on the job..“She was lazy in the way she was doing her job,” wrote John Jaworski, adjudicator with the Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board.. Jail .“The evidence clearly displayed that she had a lax, nonchalant attitude toward a very serious situation and assignment.”.Grace Scott, a prison guard in Edmonton with nine years’ seniority, was fired in 2017..“You were negligent in your performance of duties,” said a note from the warden’s office..Video evidence showed Scott, while on a prisoner’s suicide watch overnight, hauled a mattress with blankets into her workplace and relaxed on the floor, according to Blacklock’s Reporter..“I was tired,” testified Scott, who denied sleeping on the job..“That happens to anyone working night shift.”.Propped up on a mattress “is not against policy,” said Scott..“I just become complacent.”.Adjudicator Jaworski ordered the Correctional Service to rehire the guard. Appropriate punishment was three weeks without pay, he ruled..“She was more focused on her own comfort by setting up the mattress and blanket and fiddling with them,” wrote Jaworski. It was “clear to me the griever did acknowledge her errors and mistakes and she apologized.”.The Board decision followed other rulings in cases of sleeping prison guards..Adjudicators in 2019 ordered the Correctional Service to rehire a guard at a Mission, BC penitentiary who spent more than an hour sleeping in the cab of his vehicle while he was supposed to be on patrol. It was a second offence..“I can’t express how guilty and sorry I feel,” said the guard..Surveillance video showed managers spotted the guard “with his mouth open and his head tipped back” dozing in the front seat of his vehicle..“What are you doing?” asked a manager, knocking on the driver’s window..The guard appeared “disoriented, dazed and confused” and had removed his boots and bulletproof vest, evidence showed..In a separate 2021 decision, the Board also overturned the firing of another Edmonton guard who brought a neck pillow to work for an hour-long nap on the night shift..“I know it looks bad,” testified the employee..“Video shows her with her legs on a chair, slumped down and motionless,” according to Board records. The employee only stirred when another guard arrived on his rounds..The Correctional Service has fired sleeping staff for violating its Standards of Professional Conduct..Management said it wanted to “send a clear message to all employees.”
