Man wins five-year battle over pay lost during Prince Edward Island snowstorm
CHARLOTTETOWN — In what might be a moral victory for every Canadian who ever had to go to work in bad weather, a P.E.I. man has won a five-year battle to get 3.5 hours worth of pay after being unable to get to the office.
A labour panel granted Leslie Smith leave pay for time missed during a snowstorm, agreeing that the evidence showed roads were not safe for travel.
“It would not have been wise for him to endanger his life or physical health by driving in very difficult road conditions from his home to his workplace, which was an hour away,” adjudicator Nathalie Daigle said in a decision from a panel of the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board.
“Based on the evidence, I am satisfied (he) made reasonable efforts to get to work and that the snowstorm prevented him from travelling to his workplace.”