Department of Education ordered to pay teacher, principal, $35,000 and $45,000 damages, for breaches of collective agreement and statutory health and safety obligations arising from uncontrolled behaviour of special needs student

A New Brunswick labour arbitrator has held that a Department of Education operating a provincial school board must pay a teacher and principal aggravated damages of $35,000 and $45,000 respectively – as well as wage loss damages to the principal who took premature retirement following a diagnosis of PTSD –  for breaching its statutory and collective agreement obligations to protect the health and safety of its teaching staff from assaults by a student with special needs.

Court awards dismissed employee $25,000 in punitive damages based on employer’s termination letter purporting to withhold entitlements unless employee signed a waiver

A British Columbia judge held that an employee who was dismissed without cause was entitled to common law damages for failure to give reasonable notice as the employer had repudiated the employment contract by failing to make contractually obligated payments following the dismissal, thereby rendering the contract unenforceable.