An arbitrator has reinstated a British Columbia mixer driver who was fired for punching a colleague, ruling that his employer’s failure to address years of racist provocation and workplace aggression directly contributed to the violent outburst.
The worker, employed at Burnco Rock Products since 2017, was terminated after a lunchroom fight in October 2024. His termination has been replaced with a six-month suspension.
The case highlights the consequences when employers fail to enforce their own workplace policies consistently — and how that failure can escalate into serious violence.
Pattern of provocation ignored
The arbitrator heard extensive evidence about the co-worker’s behaviour leading up to the fight, including multiple racist comments directed at the grievor.
In October 2023, the co-worker told the worker he didn’t like “your kind,” which the worker testified he interpreted to mean “I don’t like brown people.” The co-worker received only a written warning.
The human resources manager confirmed she was “aware of numerous prior complaints” about the co-worker “engaging in discriminatory and provocative conduct” toward the worker and other employees. She acknowledged that neither employee was provided any assistance in navigating the ongoing conflict between them.
Multiple employees reported the co-worker had a pattern of trying to provoke physical fights. In July 2024, he challenged another worker to hit him while saying “see who’s gonna go in jail.” That worker told management about the incidents, but no action was taken.
‘Fucking fag’ incident went uninvestigated
In August 2024, the co-worker called another employee a “fucking fag” and made obscene gestures in front of Burnaby city workers. No investigation followed.
When the HR manager was asked during cross-examination whether calling an employee a “fucking fag” breached the employer’s Respectful Workplace Policy, she answered “it would depend on context.”
She explained it was “very common” for employees to joke around about this and if they are friends, she was not in a position to say no foul language should be used. She could not explain why an investigation into this incident did not take place.
The general manager acknowledged the incident should have been investigated.
The October 2024 fight
On the day of the termination-triggering incident, the co-worker arrived at the Langley location and immediately confronted the worker in the lunchroom, witnesses said. Multiple employees reported the co-worker made a racist comment and repeatedly urged the worker to hit him.
Video footage showed the worker repeatedly striking the co-worker, mostly in the ribs as the co-worker covered his head, though some blows connected with his head. Other employees broke up the fight. The co-worker required hospital treatment.
The worker told his supervisor immediately after: “Got up get coffee he…Put his fist up and [said] come punch me. Mother fuck[er]. That is when we got in a fist Fight.”
The worker was apologetic about his conduct and was suspended pending investigation. Both he and the co-worker were terminated Oct. 29, 2024.
Inconsistent enforcement
The arbitrator found the employer’s policy enforcement was “inconsistent” and gave several examples.
In June 2024, one employee body-slammed another while yelling “I will take your fucking head off.” The driver supervisor confirmed he heard the comment and “saw him shove” the other employee. No discipline resulted.
In January 2023, two employees were “involved in a heated verbal dispute” that “escalated to pushing.” One employee had grabbed the other from behind and they fell over. The supervisor spoke to the employees but “did not feel corrective discipline was necessary.”
The general manager testified he did not believe anyone had ever been fired for violence in the workplace, even though he acknowledged he was aware of previous violent incidents. Such behaviour was previously “chalked up to ‘guys being guys,'” the arbitrator noted.
Decision and key findings
The arbitrator found “significant mitigating factors,” including the worker’s clean seven-and-a-half-year record, substantial provocation, and the employer’s failure to address the co-worker’s behaviour.
“If the employer sufficiently and appropriately addressed [the co-worker’s] behaviour earlier, the altercation with the grievor would never have happened,” the arbitrator wrote. “While certainly violence was not an acceptable route to resolution, I find it was not a surprising result in the circumstances.”
The arbitrator emphasized that “violence in the workplace is never justified” and is “among the most serious industrial offences.” However, the ruling found termination was excessive given the unique circumstances.
“Where an employer tolerates physical and verbal aggression, racism, and homophobia in the workplace, violence, while never acceptable, is not unpredictable,” the arbitrator wrote. “Employers must be held to account where they have failed to take appropriate measures to ensure the workplace is free of such behaviour.”
The worker is to be made whole for the difference between termination and a six-month suspension.
See more coverage in our sister publication HR Law Canada here: https://hrlawcanada.com/2026/01/mixer-driver-wins-job-back-after-punching-co-worker-who-repeatedly-dared-him-to-fight/
