The cognac is on your tab...

The employee, who worked as a banquet assistant in a hotel and had 23 years’ seniority, challenges his dismissal for having taken a bottle of cognac. The employee alleges that he intended this as a joke, while this allegation does not match the surveillance video submitted as evidence as well as testimony by other employees. The evidence showed that the employee’s action was premeditated, that he lied on several occasions and that he tried to incriminate another employee. In addition, the hotel industry requires a high standard of honesty. Finally, considering the incidents that occurred within the same establishment, the employee could not be unaware of the employer’s zero tolerance policy. Dismissal is therefore upheld. Centre Sheraton Montréal Hotel v. Syndicat des travailleuses et travailleurs du Centre Sheraton (CSN) (R. Fields) , DTE 2009T-668 (T.A.) Me Louis B. Courtemanche