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Stephanie Katelnikoff, a Canadian Pacific conductor, was dismissed in November 2017 after the company raised concerns about her online remarks and photos it alleged were taken on railway property. In a union-backed labour arbitration reported in February 2020, arbitrator Richard Hornung reportedly found that some conduct warranted a short suspension, not dismissal. Katelnikoff did not get her job back: later posts were cited as making reinstatement untenable. The compensation amount had not been set in the reports.
Was this a wrongful dismissal lawsuit?
Reports described the case as a union grievance decided through labour arbitration, not a civil lawsuit. Some headlines called it a lawsuit, but the reported outcome came from arbitrator Richard Hornung. The available accounts characterize his decision as finding the dismissal wrongful; the full arbitration award was not available in the cited coverage.
Why was Stephanie Katelnikoff dismissed?
Canadian Pacific said the dismissal concerned online remarks about the company and photos it alleged were taken on railway property, raising safety and company-related concerns. Katelnikoff told The Canadian Press that what someone does in private time with her own body is not the company’s business if it harms no one. The dispute was not simply about the photos’ sexual content: the company cited alleged safety issues and disparaging remarks, while the union challenged the fairness and impartiality of the investigation.
The location of the photos should not be treated as established. A Global News editor’s correction to its Canadian Press account said Katelnikoff did not remember where they were taken and was not working for the railway at the time. The arbitrator reportedly considered it improbable that the emailed complaint that prompted the investigation came from a legitimate functional address.
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What did the arbitrator decide?
According to Canadian Press reports published in February 2020, Hornung concluded that some of Katelnikoff’s conduct justified a short suspension, but not dismissal. The reported remedy separated that finding from the question of whether she could return to work.
She was not reinstated
Hornung reportedly declined to order reinstatement because of posts made after her dismissal. One sexually suggestive post named a company investigating officer. The arbitrator was quoted as saying it “speaks volumes regarding both her lack of respect for the company and her unsuitability to return to the company as a fully participating employee.”
Compensation was unresolved in the reports
The reports said Katelnikoff was entitled to compensation for the wrongful dismissal, but the amount still had to be worked out. They did not state a final figure, so no specific award can be given from those accounts.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Was this her first dismissal by the railway?
No. Katelnikoff had also been dismissed after a 2014 derailment near Banff involving 15 rail cars. Reporting says an arbitrator found in her favour in February 2016, and the Transportation Safety Board attributed that derailment to broken track. That earlier event was separate from the 2017 dismissal over online activity.
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