A BC woman hired at a financial firm to replace someone on parental leave won an expensive wrongful termination lawsuit after she got fired over an email.
Kavita Lefebvre sued Gisborne Holdings after being let go six weeks into her employment contract.
Lefebvre argued that she was dismissed without cause, while Gisborne claimed that the email in question “caused an irreconcilable breakdown of the employment.”
She sought damages equalling what she would have been paid if she had fulfilled the employment contract, or $5,000, which was the completion bonus for the contract.
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Gisborne argued that no damages are payable but also said Lefebvre was entitled to the $5,000 less two weeks severance she received.
The employment contract was to last from May 2, 2022, to October 27, 2023, at a pay rate of $25.95 per hour, plus the aforementioned $5,000 completion bonus.
The BC Court decision says that while Lefebvre was provided with some training by the employee leaving on parental leave, she wasn’t adequately trained for all her tasks, including some assigned on top of the role she was filling.
“Lefebvre struggled to keep up with the workload,” the BC Court decision says.
Maegan Teunissen was Lefebvre’s manager during her tenure, who directly affected her dismissal.
On June 24, 2022, Lefebvre was on a call with a rep of Gisborne’s biggest client. That client got upset after finding out Lefebvre didn’t schedule a service appointment as expected. Court documents suggested that both parties got heated during the call.
Lefebvre called Teunissen right after the incident to report it and to be advised on how to respond.
Further emails were sent between Teunissen, Lefebvre and the client, including an apology from Lefebvre for being “so testy.”
Nearly a week later, on June 30, there was a call between Lefebvre, Teunissen and Ian Gibson, the HR manager. Lefebvre said she would reach out to the client to smooth things over.
During the same meeting, Teunissen stated that Gisborne technicians reported concerns about Lefebvre’s communication style. Lefebvre said she would attend service meetings to build better relationships with the technicians. Lefebvre also took the meeting to share her concerns about the lack of training and volume of work, including the tasks her predecessor didn’t need to worry about.
Later that day, Gibson emailed Lefebvre and Teunissen an action plan based on the meeting.
On July 4, 2022, Lefebvre emailed Gibson in response to the June 30 email. The company found that this email constituted cause for dismissal.
On July 5, Lefebvre still believed she had a future with Gisborne and spoke to the rep of Gisborne’s client again, apologizing for her “extraordinary testiness.”
The two sides were able to resolve their differences.
However, two days later, on July 7, Gisborne sent a letter to Lefebvre terminating her. She was paid till the end of the day on Friday, July 8, 2022.
What did the email say?
Court documents reveal snippets of the email that got Lefebvre fired. The email was only sent to Gibson.
Lefebvre used the email to acknowledge she was testy with the client rep on June 24. She described Teunissen’s statement during the June 30 meeting as “at best, a deliberate misdirection.”
She stated that it was “patently unfair and borderline untrue” to suggest that she created the problems with the client in question. The court found that there were indeed some issues around scheduling before Lefebvre’s start date.
Lefebvre also asked to discuss compensation because of the additional duties she was assigned.
“In my view, it is not insubordination for an employee to ask to discuss their compensation,” the judge presiding over the case said.
Her email concluded, “My expectation is that all parties concerned will be held to the same standard and that the courtesy, honesty, and accountability that I extend will be reciprocated. I, too, look forward to positive outcomes and to cordial and professional working relationships, and it is my hope that we all work towards this.”
When Gibson showed Teunissen the email, she was “upset and offended,” describing the email as “borderline insubordinate” and felt she was being called a liar who fabricated complaints.
According to the lawsuit decision, no one discussed the email with Lefebvre before she got fired. The judge stated that dismissal for cause was not a proportionate response to Lefebvre’s email.
Lefebvre won a lot more than a $5,000 completion bonus. She was awarded $81,100 in damages for what she would’ve earned if she had completed her term of employment.