Executive Summary: Key Legal and Evidentiary Issues

• Court found the Labour Relations Board erred in concluding procedural fairness was denied during adjudication.

• Adjudicator had authority to determine the last date of employment and entitlement to backpay under the SEA.

• LRB improperly substituted its own factual findings, disregarding deference owed to the Adjudicator’s evidence-based conclusions.

• Standard of review for procedural fairness and jurisdictional issues was correctness under the appellate framework of the SEA.

• Appeal was allowed and the Labour Relations Board decision was quashed, reinstating the Adjudicator’s original decision.

• Each party was ordered to bear their own costs before both the Labour Relations Board and the Court of Appeal.

Facts of the case

Allan Veldman was employed as a seasonal worker for the Rural Municipality of Buchanan No. 304. After making a workplace harassment complaint, his employment was terminated. Mr. Veldman filed a discriminatory action complaint under section 3-36 of The Saskatchewan Employment Act (SEA), alleging retaliation for his harassment complaint. An occupational health officer found that the RM had wrongfully terminated Mr. Veldman, ordering reinstatement, backpay, and removal of any reprimand from his employment file. The RM appealed the calculation of backpay to an Adjudicator, arguing that Mr. Veldman's subsequent earnings from another municipality, the RM of Keys, should offset the amount owed.

The Adjudicator upheld the core finding of discriminatory termination but determined that the RM’s obligation to reinstate Mr. Veldman ended on August 17, 2021, due to his failure to cooperate with reinstatement efforts. She ordered that backpay be calculated from May 5, 2021, to August 17, 2021, deducting Mr. Veldman's earnings from Keys during that period. Mr. Veldman appealed the Adjudicator’s decision to the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board (LRB), which found that the Adjudicator had breached procedural fairness by refusing an adjournment and committed errors of law by making findings outside her jurisdiction and without evidentiary basis.

Outcome of the case

The Court of Appeal allowed the RM’s appeal, quashing the LRB's decision and reinstating the Adjudicator’s ruling. The Court held that the Adjudicator had jurisdiction to determine the last day of Mr. Veldman's employment and assess his cooperation with reinstatement efforts. It found that the LRB incorrectly concluded that procedural fairness was denied, misapprehended the complexity of the hearing, and improperly interfered with factual findings made by the Adjudicator. The Court emphasized that peremptory hearing dates limit adjournment rights absent compelling circumstances, and the Adjudicator’s approach was fair within the SEA’s statutory framework. No costs were awarded, with each party bearing their own costs at the Labour Relations Board and in the Court of Appeal.