Wal-Mart Canada Corp Case Study
The Importance of Formal Workplace Investigations
In Chapter 12, we learned of the important role a Human Resources professional plays in ensuring the safety of their employees. In Chapter 13, we are going to look at the constructive dismissal case of Meredith Boucher, an employee of Wal-Mart Canada.
The Wal-Mart Canada Corp Case Study
Meredith Boucher worked as the Assistant Manager at the Windsor, Ontario Wal-Mart store. In 2009, Meredith was asked to falsify a temperature log and refused to do so. Following her refusal, Meredith was humiliated and demeaned by the Store Manager. Meredith reported the verbal abuse, and following an internal investigation, Meredith was advised her complaints were unsubstantiated. Following another incident of humiliation in front of co-workers, Meredith quit her job and sued both her manager and Wal-Mart Canada for constructive dismissal and damages.
We are reviewing the Wal-Mart Canada Corp Case Study to understand the importance of formal investigations and action plans to ensure employees do not experience harassment, verbal abuse and mental suffering in the workplace.
Case Summary
Meredith Boucher began working for Wal-Mart in 1999. She was well-regarded and received a number of promotions over the years. In 2008, she was made a Lead Assistant Manager in a Windsor, Ontario, store. Initially, her relationship with the Store Manager, Jason Pinnock, was positive and her performance appraisals were glowing. Then, in May 2009, Pinnock asked Boucher to falsify a log recording temperature in meat and dairy coolers. Boucher refused. Pinnock, who was worried the incomplete logs would negatively affect the store’s ratings in an upcoming inspection, subjected Boucher to a disciplinary meeting.
Concerned about this unfair reprisal, Boucher approached a superior to express her concerns. When Pinnock learned of the complaint, “he subjected her to an unrelenting and increasing torrent of abuse. He regularly used profane language when he spoke to her. He belittled her. He demeaned her in front of other employees. He even called in other employees so he had an audience when he berated her and showed his disdain for her” (Boucher v. Wal-Mart Canada Corp., 2014, para. 24). Boucher complained of Pinnock’s escalating harassment to senior management. Their investigation found her complaint was “unsubstantiated” and they threatened her with discipline for making the complaint.
Pinnock’s behaviour and Wal-Mart’s lack of response negatively affected Boucher’s health. “She said that she was stressed out. She could not eat or sleep. She had abdominal pain, constipation and bloating. She lost weight and began vomiting blood. Co-workers testified that Boucher went from a fun-loving, lively, positive leader to a defeated and broken person” (Boucher v. Wal-Mart Canada Corp., 2014, para. 37). On November 18, 2009, Pinnock once again berated Boucher over ten skids of product that were not unloaded. He “grabbed Boucher by the elbow in front of a group of co-workers. He told her to prove to him that she could count to ten”(Boucher v. Wal-Mart Canada Corp., 2014, para. 34). Boucher was so humiliated that she ran out of the store. She never returned to work. Boucher sued for unfair dismissal. At appeal, she was awarded $300,000 in damages against Wal-Mart and $110,000 against Pinnock. After her departure from the store, Boucher’s health gradually improved.
Read the article outlining the constructive dismissal case of Meredith Boucher with a focus on the opportunities to intervene in potential and actual workplace harassment.
Explain the ways in which a Human Resources professional could address a workplace incident like the one at Wal-Mart Canada to avoid and eliminate the threat of workplace harassment.
Reflect on this case study and share the learning lessons and the way in which they have impacted you.
The Price of Workplace Bullying: Boucher v. Wal-Mart Canada Corp., 2014 ONCA 419 (CanLII)Time To Take Workplace Harassment and Abuse Seriously
The case summary was taken from “6.1 Psycho-social hazards” from Canadian Health and Safety Workplace Fundamentals Copyright © 2022 by Connie Palmer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
