46 Bell workers sue over alleged wrongful termination
Former employees claim the telecom giant fired them as part of cost-cutting tied to attendance falsification, not genuine misconduct.
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Nearly 50 former Bell employees are suing parent company BCE alleging wrongful termination after being fired over falsified in-office attendance.
Bell said it fired a small number of employees in May following a thorough investigation into alleged "swipe and go" techniques—where workers swiped their key card to record attendance then left. However, the lawsuit's statement of claim alleges the firings were economically motivated.
According to the claim, a Bell whistleblower revealed 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.
Employment lawyer Jean-Alexandre De Bousquet, representing the workers, described the situation as "massive rounds of economically motivated terminations." Several employees reportedly had written accommodations or verbal approval from managers allowing alternate work arrangements, yet Bell retroactively called the practice severe misconduct after condoning it for years.
The allegations have not been tested in court. Bell said it cannot comment on allegations it hasn't been served yet, but will defend itself. BCE has 20 days to file a statement of defence. The lawsuit involves 46 employees, mostly from the Toronto area, seeking damages ranging from roughly $18,000 to $350,000.