A recent photograph taken by a TTC traveler on January 8, 2010 has gone viral on the internet. The photo depicts a TTC employee sleeping on the job inside a ticket both. This photo brings up many employment law issues, including employment termination, wrongful dismissal and termination for cause.
Employees who are on the “front-lines” of an employer’s business are the face of the business and any form of insubordination by these employees, such as sleeping on the job, reflects poorly on the employer’s business as a whole. Such conduct may be grounds for termination for cause since the ramifications of such insubordination may have detrimental effects on the employer’s business.
However, an employer should not simply terminate the employee for cause when such conduct as sleeping on the job is discovered. The employer should investigate the situation and see whether or not the employee has a medical condition or some other reason that justifies the insubordination, which may require a duty to accommodate on behalf of the employer. If such a medical condition is the reason for the employee’s conduct, a knee-jerk termination may result in a Human Rights Application for discrimination by the employee against the employer.
For more information on this photograph please refer to the following links: