Nearly 50 former Bell employees sue over wrongful termination
Workers claim the telecom fired them for attendance violations as cover for cost-cutting, contradicting years of approved alternate work arrangements.
The day's top stories, food & events — every morning at 7. Unsubscribe anytime.
Nearly 50 former Bell employees are suing parent company BCE, alleging wrongful termination after the company fired workers for falsifying in-office attendance.
In May, Bell said it fired a "small number" of employees following an investigation into alleged attendance falsification, claiming employees used "swipe and go" techniques where they swiped their key card to record attendance and then left the premises. But the lawsuit's statement of claim alleges the terminations were economically motivated.
According to the claim, a Bell whistleblower shared the company's alleged mass-layoff strategy, which included written instructions to fire roughly 30 employees per office to meet targets set by upper management. The strategy allegedly involved targeting at least one employee per team for dismissal to set an example.
Several employees reportedly had written accommodations or verbal approval from managers allowing alternate work arrangements. The lawsuit argues that after condoning these arrangements for years, Bell retroactively called them severe misconduct. The company then fired the managers who approved the arrangements.
Bell has said its investigations were "thorough" and that it presented evidence of misconduct before terminating employees. The company will have 20 days to file a statement of defence. The lawsuit involves 46 employees, mostly from the Toronto area, seeking damages ranging from $18,000 to $350,000 based on salary and time with the company.
