Case situation
Jessie (the griever) has been employed with her employer for 15 years. Jessie is a unionized employee and is entitled to her rights in the applicable collective agreement (link to collective agreement is provided below).
Jessie’s employer and coworkers are aware that she is an animal lover. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, Jessie took off work using vacation time to care for her 12 year old Boston terrier dog who was diagnosed with a terminal illness and needed to be euthanized (i.e. put down).
When Jessie returned to work on Thursday, she was greeted with flowers and a sympathy card from her co-workers and supervisor. Jessie asked her supervisor to reinstate her three vacation days back and instead treat her time off as family related leave in accordance with Article 30 of the applicable collective agreement (link to collective agreement is below). Jessie’s supervisor expressed sympathy for her loss but denied her request stating that the intent of Article 30 related to human family members only – not pets.
Jessie filed a grievance stating she had been unfairly denied family related leave under the terms of the collective agreement.
Aanalyze and discuss any applicable articles in the collective agreement to this grievance to determine if Jessie should be credited back three days of vacation and instead be entitled to three days family related leave. Reference any articles in the collective agreement you considered in determining your response. In your response, discuss what could be some possible interpretations of the applicable articles for management and for the union.
Is the language of the Article 30 in the collective agreement clear or ambiguous? Explain your answer.
https://cpb-ca-c1.wpmucdn.com/www.rrc.ca/dist/a/54/files/2019/09/Red-River-College-Local-73-June-24-2017-to-June-18-2021.pdf
