Company workers fined for refusing to give statements in investigations
Volker Stevin workers who refused to give statements in an Occupational Health and Safety death investigation were fined, the Alberta Court of Appeal ruled Friday.
A 38-year-old man named Habtom Abraha died on October 2, 2019, while inspecting catch basins in the Windsong neighborhood. Michael O'Neill ran over the employee while driving a Ford F-550. The court heard O'Neill was positioning the truck as a 'shield' to protect the job site when the accident happened.
A three-member appeal panel said the administrative penalties levied by the Alberta Labour Relations Board against four employees and the company were warranted.
The fines were imposed after the workers refused to give statements related to the October 19 death of a co-worker.
ALRB ordered O'Neill, Don Neustaedter, Mike Principalli, and James Wallace to pay $1,000 in fines, while Volker Stevin was fined $5,000.
Justice Jayme Williams leveled fines and surcharges against Volker Stevin, totaling $480,000, while O'Neill's totals $66,000. Both were convicted of charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
In her written decision, Williams mentioned that Abraha's death was avoidable if his employer and manager took the "reasonably practical" steps to ensure his safety.
“He was the manager on a two-man crew and he did not take any steps to ensure that his worker was in a safe location before moving the truck,” Williams wrote.
“While the death of any person on a worksite is tragic and creates emotional and financial complexity for their loved ones, I accept that (the employee’s death) specifically resulted in an added layer of complexity given the fact that he had only weeks prior to his death successfully brought some of his children to Canada,” Williams wrote.
She noted O’Neill had been through a traumatic experience in determining his sentence.
“Mr. O’Neill’s remorse, verging on shame, was palpable and I consider it in mitigation of his sentence.”
The Alberta Court of Appeal dismissed several grounds raised by their lawyers, Peter Major and Gurjot Sekhon, including that the act violated the workers’ Charter rights by allowing them to be interviewed by an OHS investigator without their lawyer present.
