Safety Violation Arbitration Win

The employer argued that the grievant sustained an injury and failed to report it for four days. The employer contended that the grievant was aware of the rule that all injuries suffered on the job must be reported “immediately”. The union argued that the grievant did not know he had sustained an injury until he was in pain and sought medical attention. The union asserted that the employer never defined “immediately”. The arbitrator determined that the employer’s use of “immediately” was vague and unclear. The arbitrator found that the grievant reported his injury when he realized he had one.

Award: grievance sustained