When accommodation meets workplace safety
The incident occurred during Kinder’s first interaction with Tristen Owen, a recently hired employee assigned to work the planer bins. Owen testified that after he told Kinder he had already been trained on bins in the sawmill, Kinder’s mood “shifted” and he made the threatening comment. Owen reported feeling unsafe and asked to be reassigned.
Kinder had no prior relationship with Owen. The two had never worked together before that morning and had no interaction outside the workplace. Owen testified the comment was “clear as day” despite suggestions that protective earmuffs could have caused a misunderstanding.
The employer conducted immediate interviews with both employees. Management then met with Kinder on Jan. 31, 2024. According to contemporaneous meeting notes, the general manager asked Kinder “specifically if he threatened to kill someone in the sawmill.” Kinder responded: “No, I never said that.”
The shadow of past conduct
In June 2022, Kinder had made similar comments to a supervisor about “how easy it would be to kill” someone and played what he described as his “new favourite song” which was about suicide. The employer did not discipline him at that time, determining the comments were related to a mental health condition. Kinder was subsequently certified under the Mental Health Act and went on extended medical leave.
Before returning to work, Kinder signed a detailed Return-to-Work Agreement in February 2023 requiring weekly counselling sessions, monthly physician check-ins, regular blood draws to monitor medication levels, and permanent restriction from graveyard shifts. The agreement specifically stated Kinder “must ensure that his conduct and comments are appropriate, respectful and non-threatening.”