Team spirit and solidarity were considered as objective selection criteria during a layoff

Release date: November 1st, 2018

A hydrologist filed a complaint under section 122 L.S.A. to challenge her temporary layoff, alleging that the employer's decision was not based on objective and impartial criteria. The court held that the temporary layoff was for genuine economic reasons. To proceed with the layoff, the employer used three selection criteria: the group's training, experience and shared values. The employee claimed that the employer based his decision on subjective and discriminatory criteria related to her state of health and pregnancy. According to the court, team spirit and the ability to show solidarity, particularly in turbulent times, are values that an employer can legitimately consider when selecting employees to be laid off. This is an objective and impartial criterion, as are experience and training. The administrative judge dismissed the complaint and concluded that, even if the employer had known that the employee was pregnant, this would not have had any impact, since his decision was based on objective, impartial and non-discriminatory criteria.

Lussier-Clément v. SNC-Lavalin Inc.
2018EXPT-819, 2018 QCTAT 1825, Administrative Judge Marie-Claude Grignon


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