A flight attendant who sought workers’ compensation for a mental disorder related to on-the-job bullying and harassment has had his claim rejected by the British Columbia Workers’ Compensation Appeals Tribunal.
It ruled the flight attendant did not develop a compensable mental disorder in 2019 as a result of his working environment, upholding an earlier decision by WorkSafeBC.
The flight attendant’s claim highlighted several incidents dating back to 2010, including being placed on a performance plan, alleged harassment by a supervisor, and a contentious altercation with a coworker in April 2019.
In the latter incident, he advised the co-worker of a safety issue — to sit down during severe turbulence — and said that person swore at him, said she knew he was on probation, and she was going to talk to their manager and the complaint would get him fired.
The tribunal found that most of the events cited by the flight attendant either fell under the management exclusion clause, which disallows claims based on employer decisions relating to employment, or were not considered traumatic or significant stressors under the Workers Compensation Act.
The tribunal concluded that his experiences, while subjectively distressing, did not meet the objective criteria for a traumatic event or significant work-related stressor as defined by policy and law. The tribunal also highlighted the lack of medical evidence directly linking the attendant’s psychological condition to the workplace events described.
It did order the worker to be reimbursed two amounts — $3,800 plus applicable taxes and $1,359 in total —for reports prepared by a neuropsychologist.
For more information, see A2201477 (Re), 2024 CanLII 10426 (BC WCAT).
