FAQ's Cases - Stewart McKelvey

- 4 -by the time she finished there. It was very unpleasant to work there, she said. For example, ifone was late returning from lunch, Roberta Pozniak would “go up one side and down the other”.Talking among the staff would bring Ms. Pozniak out of her office saying to get back to work.She did not recall Ms. Pozniak yelling, but said she had a tone of voice even if not yelling. Shestated that Ms. Pozniak was authoritarian, impatient and abrupt, going beyond just a managementstyle. For Ms. Wills, it was the last straw. She quit not only the job with the defendant, but thetravel industry, and went to work in the insurance business.[13] Ms. Wills said that the plaintiff would be upset and cry on a regular basis, even daily.Walter Pozniak knew something of the situation and would tell Roberta Pozniak to back off. Ms.Wills had urged the plaintiff to quit because one could take that office environment only for solong.2011 ONSC 2148 (CanLII)[14] In later years, after the defendant moved to a location near Ms. Wills’ new job, she could,she said, see the plaintiff crying in the parking lot at times. She had talked with the plaintiff onoccasion when their lunches overlapped, knew what the plaintiff’s complaint was, and said that itnever changed.[15] Tina Kennedy also gave evidence for the plaintiff. She had worked for the defendantuntil about February, 2009, including about four years with the plaintiff. She would have quit inFebruary, 2007 if she had had another job to go to. When she did quit, she went on a stress leavefor a while before starting her present job with the Canadian Automobile Association as a travelconsultant. Ms. Kennedy recalled the plaintiff going on stress leave and eventually leaving thedefendant’s employ because of stress caused, she said, by Roberta Pozniak. Prior, she had seenthe plaintiff shake on a regular basis and break down and cry at least two times.[16] Miss Kennedy said she received from Roberta Pozniak treatment similar to the plaintiff’safter the plaintiff left. She referred particularly to stress, yelling, the Pozniaks arguing betweenthemselves, getting blamed for things when she was not at fault, and being yelled at by Ms.Pozniak. She felt that both Pozniaks treated her improperly. She put up with it at first, but saidit built up until she could not take it.[17] Exhibit 1, Tab 8 is a letter dated February 26 th , 2007 that Miss Kennedy confirmed thatshe had written. It is addressed to Walter Pozniak. Miss Kennedy confirmed in court what shesaid in the letter about wanting the office’s atmosphere to be more relaxed, referring to RobertaPozniak’s style of management, and that she would like to have seen less aggression in how thePozniaks dealt with the staff.[18] Testimony was also received from Jim Chartrand, the plaintiff’s spouse of 16 years. Hesaid that he observed that the plaintiff was not herself leading up to the stress leave, but she