Public Service Grievance Board - Frequently Asked Questions

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Frequently Asked Questions

NOTES:

In these Frequently Asked Questions and Answers:
1. "the Board" or "PSGB" means the Public Service Grievance Board;
2. "the Act" means the Public Service of Ontario Act, 2006 ;
3. "the Regulation" means Ontario Regulation 378/07 under the Act ;
4. "Rule" or "Rules" means the Rules and Practice Notes of the Board, which can be found at Rules and Practice Notes; and
5. "Complaint" or "application" mean a complaint filed with the Board.
These Frequently Asked Questions and Answers provide general information for employees seeking to file a Complaint to the Board, and should not be taken as legal advice. While every effort has been made to explain them in clear terms, these FAQs are subject to the actual wording of the Act, the Regulation, the Rules, and the Board's decisions interpreting them.
The Board"s decisions are available online at https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onpsgb/ .
If you want to seek legal advice or representation about a matter that you may want to bring before the Board and are unsure where to turn, you can go to
Finding a Lawyer or Paralegal | Law Society of Ontario (lso.ca) .

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

No. The Board is a neutral adjudicator of Complaints that are brought by eligible provincial employees. The Board and its staff cannot provide any of the parties with legal advice. This is true whether or not a Complaint has already been filed.

Generally, you are eligible to file a Complaint if you are a non-union provincial public servant. You must be employed in a ministry or Commission public body (i.e. appointed by the Public Service Commission under section 32(1) or (2) of the Act). This is subject to the exceptions outlined below.

You are not eligible to file a Complaint with the Board if you are:

represented by a union
represented by the Ontario Crown Attorneys' Association or the Association of Law Officers of the Crown
employed in a term classified position; or
in most cases, if you are employed for a fixed term. (see Sections 5(2) and (3) of the Regulation)

In addition, you are not eligible to file a Complaint about dismissal for cause if:

you have been employed continuously for a fixed term or terms of less than 12 months; or:
you are on probation

Furthermore, you cannot file a Complaint about a working condition or term of employment if you are:

employed continuously for less than six months;
employed in a position within the Senior Management Group (under section 33(1) of the Act);
employed as a Branch Director or a Hospital Administrator;
employed in a position with headquarters located outside of Ontario; or
employed by the Crown as a lawyer.

Yes, you likely can. You can do so if you were appointed by the Public Service Commission of Ontario to employment in a Commission public body, under section 32(1) or (2) of the Act.Of course, you must also be eligible to file a Complaint under the criteria reviewed above. Check Regulation 146/10 under the Act to determine whether your board, commission or tribunal is a Commission public body.

Broadly speaking, eligible employees can file Complaints concerning:

Working conditions or a term of employment, which could for example include complaints about discrimination or failure of your employer's duty to accommodate (see section 4(1) of the Regulation; and for an example of a Board decision discussing what is a term and condition of employment,

https://canlii.ca/t/j8lsm

Disciplinary measures or dismissals for cause (see sections 2 and 3 of the Regulation);
Reprisals related to political activity (see sections 103 and 104 of the Act); and
Reprisals related to whistleblowing or disclosure of wrongdoing (see sections 139 and 140 of the Act);

However, there are limits to what working conditions can be subject to a Complaint . The following matters generally cannot be the subject of a Complaint:

The term or duration of your appointment;
Assignment to a particular class or position;
Your performance evaluation;
The compensation resulting from a performance evaluation; or
A dismissal without cause under section 38(1) of the Act (this refers to public servants appointed to a position prescribed under section 55(1)(b) of the Act;(See section 4(2) of the Regulation).

No. If it is not the kind of complaint that can be filed with the Board, as outlined above, you must pursue your claim elsewhere. And even if it could be dealt with by the Board, you may have the option of pursuing the matter before a court or other tribunal that has overlapping jurisdiction. Some examples of overlapping jurisdiction include:

Wrongful dismissal claims may be the subject of a civil action in the courts;
Discrimination claims, including failure to fulfill a duty to accommodate, may be the subject of an application to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario;
Certain concerns about the protection of a worker's health and safety may be the subject of a complaint to the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development and an appeal to the Ontario Labour Relations Board; and
Complaints regarding disclosure of wrongdoing can be made internally to your ethics executive or externally to the Integrity Commissioner.

It is not likely, however, that you would be able to pursue essentially the same complaint in more than one forum. You should therefore consider carefully what forum or process is best for you.

Let's just call this your "Notice of Proposal." It is your first step in the complaint process. This step must be completed before you bring a Complaint to the Board. It is your initial, written notice to your employer that you intend to bring a Complaint to the Board if you cannot resolve it with them during the dispute resolution period. You may do this with a letter or email, as there is no official form or template. In it, you must set out the reasons for your Complaint and deliver it to your employer (See S. 8(1) of the Regulation).

Usually your Notice of Proposal must be given to your deputy minister or, if you work in a Commission public body, to the Chair of the Public Service Commission, or their designates. However, different processes exist for Complaints relating to alleged reprisals for political activity or whistleblowing (see Question 15).

Most Notices of Proposal must be given to your employer within 14 days after you receive notice of a disciplinary measure or dismissal, or within 14 days of your becoming aware of the working condition or term of employment complained of. These time limits are mandatory and the Board does not have the discretion to extend them. For details, see section 8 of the Regulation (and see Hasted v Ontario (Community Safety and Correctional Services), 2016 CanLII 7473 (ON PSGB) at paragraphs 21-22). Again, different processes exist for Complaints relating to alleged reprisals for political activity or whistleblowing (see Question 15).

Probably not. To be eligible, you must be an Ontario public servant or another person appointed by the Public Service Commission under Section 32(1) or (2) of the Act.
See for example, Burt v. Ontario (Community Safety and Correctional Services), 2011 CanLII 23300 (ON PSGB).

Give your Notice of Proposal to the designated person as described in Q. 8 above, within the time frame described in Q.9 above (as detailed in section 8 of the Regulation).*
Wait until the end of the dispute resolution period as described in section 9 of the Regulation. Note that under section 9, the length of the dispute resolution period varies depending on:
1. whether the person to whom you gave notice, or their delegate, meets with you during the 30 days after your notice is given, and
2. whether or not you receive a written decision about your Complaint
Read Sections 8, 9 and 10 of the Regulation carefully. Be very careful to calculate the precise dispute resolution period in your case, based on what has happened in response to your notice of proposal. This is YOUR responsibility. You should NOT rely on the Employer to protect your rights in this regard.
File your Complaint with the Board WITHIN 14 DAYS AFTER the expiry of your dispute resolution period.

* Note: these time frames and process are not applicable to reprisal Complaints regarding political activity under sections 103 and 104 of the Act or regarding disclosure of wrongdoing under sections 139 and 140 of the Act;
For examples of Board decisions discussing these requirements, see St. Amant vs. Ontario (Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services) 2013 CanLII 4673; and Telford vs. Ontario (Finance) 2016 CanLII 36364; and Beach vs. Ontario (Solicitor General) 2020 CanLII 74281;and Dixon vs. Ontario (2020) CanLII 74279; and Preston vs. Ontario (Education) 2021 CanLII 71622.

If no meeting takes place with your deputy minister or their designate, the dispute resolution period expires 30 days after you gave your Notice of Proposal to the deputy. You must file your Complaint with the Board within 14 days after that expiry date. See Sections 9(5) and 10 of the Regulation.

See the answer to Q. 11 above.

The clock runs both during your work days and days off. It doesn't matter why you are off work. The time periods outlined in the Regulation and in these FAQs are calendar days. Don't wait until your return to work to take a necessary step, otherwise you may miss the deadline.

The disclosure of wrongdoing framework is set out in Part VI of the Act and the Disclosure of Wrongdoing Directive of the Management Board of Cabinet. The Board's role is to deal with complaints from eligible employees who believe they have been the subject of a reprisal for engaging in permitted political activity (see sections 103 and 104 of the Act), or for disclosure of wrongdoing (see sections 139 and 140 of the Act.) If you want to file such a reprisal complaint with the Board, use Form 1a.

In these cases, you don't need to deliver a prior Notice of Proposal to your employer (see section 8(2) of the Regulation) and the dispute resolution period described above is inapplicable (see section 9 of the Regulation). For a decision discussing the Board's reprisal complaint jurisdiction,
See Doyle vs. Ontario (Ministry of Municipal Affairs) 2017 CanLII 52705.

Complete your Complaint on a Form 1 or a Form 1A (see Rules 5 and 6).
Send it by email to the Board at psgb.psgb@ontario.ca. See our detailed Filing Guide here
If emailing is problematic, you can also have the Complaint delivered to the Board by courier or Canada Post, but be sure you follow the time-lines discussed above. The Board's postal address is 180 Dundas St. W., Suite #600, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1Z8 .
Get Directions

The Complaint to the Board must include your Notice of Proposal that you gave to your employer. It is also recommended that you attach any decision that you received from your employer about your Notice of Proposal. You may attach some other key documents, but this is not required.

The Complaint must set out the reasons for the Complaint. The Form 1 or 1a requires that, in consecutively numbered paragraphs your Complaint must set out a general statement of the issue or matters in dispute and a clear and concise statement of the facts and events important to your position. Tell us what did or did not happen, when it happened or when it should have happened, who was involved and where these events took place. If you miss something and later want to amend your application, you may do so if you obtain the permission of the Board (see Rule 8).

The acknowledgement letter explains what will happen next. Read it carefully. For further information, review these Frequently Asked Questions, in particular the next Question.

Once you send your Complaint to the Board, the following steps will or may happen:

The Board will send you an acknowledgement that your Complaint has been received.
The Board will send a copy of the Complaint to your Employer.
Your Employer will usually retain a lawyer to represent it. Such lawyers are often part of the Treasury Board Secretariat Legal Services Branch, but other lawyers may also be retained.
The Board will often promptly convene a Case Management Meeting or conference call. (See FAQ 23 - 25 and Practice Note #2 for more information about this).
Depending on the parties' intentions and in consultation with the parties, the Board will then either:
1. Schedule a mediation or mediation/arbitration session (if the parties agree, mediation can proceed even if the Employer has jurisdictional objections, with it reserving the right to make those arguments if no settlement is reached);
2. Set a schedule for dealing with any objections to the Board's jurisdiction to hear the merits of the Complaint; or
3. Set a schedule for hearing the merits of the Complaint.
Your employer must deliver its response to you and the Board within 60 days after receipt of your Complaint, unless the Board rules otherwise.

The Board tries to schedule cases so as to avoid setting dates when either you or another party or either side's counsel might not be available. This is why the Board does not typically set dates without consulting the parties. Unfortunately, this can result in one party or another not being available on several dates that the Board might offer.

Your Complaint can be processed to arbitration to be heard on its merits, only if it meets all the requirements of the Act and Regulation, including:

It is the kind of Complaint authorized by the Regulation (see sections 2, 3 and 4);
You are a person eligible to file a Complaint (see sections 5, 6 and 7 of the Regulation);
You filed a timely notice of proposal to file a Complaint with the appropriate person in accordance with section 8 of the Regulation;
Your dispute resolution period has expired, as described in section 9 of the Regulation,
The Complaint is filed with the Board within 14 days after the expiry of your dispute resolution period.

The Employer may raise a preliminary objection to your Complaint being heard on its merits. It may argue that all of the above requirements have not been met. If this happens, that issue is likely to be determined by the Board first, before considering the merits of your Complaint.

Yes, a Case Management Meeting or conference call will normally be arranged promptly after the appointment of the member of the Board assigned the Complaint. It will be held before the first mediation, med-arb or arbitration date is scheduled. The purpose of the case management meeting is to ascertain the issues, exchange basic information on the case, determine if there are preliminary objections to the Board's jurisdiction to rule on the merits, and help decide the best process for addressing the Complaint. For more information about these meetings, see the Board's Practice Note #2.

Case management meetings or conference calls are intended to be informal, so you don't need to have all relevant documents with you. It is advisable to have with you the Form 1 or 1a that was filed with the Board (including all attachments) and any Response that was filed by the Responding Party or Parties. See the Board's Practice Note #2 for more information about such meetings.

At the end of the case management meeting or conference call the Board member who conducted the meeting will usually issue a written summary of what was agreed to or decided about how the case will proceed. This may be issued by an email from the office of the Registrar or by way of an interim decision.

See "What is mediation?" in the section of this website entitled "Overview of the Mediation/Arbitration and Arbitration Process". Bringing documents that are important to your Complaint is highly encouraged. In addition, the Board member conducting your mediation may ask both parties to exchange and file with the Board a "mediation brief" in advance. If this is requested, you will be advised as to what should be included in the brief (see Practice Note #3). However, witnesses or non-documentary evidence will normally not be required or permitted at mediation.

See the section of this website entitled, "Overview of the Mediation/Arbitration and Arbitration Process" or click Here.

If there are still any objections to the Board's jurisdiction to hear the merits of the Complaint after the mediation, such objections will be argued either orally or in writing. The Board will establish a schedule for doing so. If there are no such objections remaining, the Board will schedule hearings in consultation with the parties, to deal with the merits of the Complaint.

Requests for disclosure of the employer's documents should be sent in writing to counsel for the employer, well in advance of the hearing. If the person appointed to hear your case convenes a Case Management Meeting, that is also a good time to raise any such request. If you and the employer's counsel do not agree on what should be disclosed, you may raise this with the Board. Again, this can be done at a Case Management Meeting, or otherwise in a written submission addressed to the Registrar.

The "arbitrator" or member of the Board who will hear your case is not available between proceedings to answer questions from either you or the Employer. Once the parties are in the arbitration phase (as distinct from informal mediation) any discussions with the arbitrator will be with representatives of both parties. Nor can the Board's staff provide legal advice or assistance to the parties, except to clarify the Board's processes. If, however, you have a submission you wish to make before your next appearance in person before the Board, you may do so in writing. Such submissions should be addressed to the Registrar, with a copy to the opposing party's representative.

No, you do not. The Board is accustomed to having laypersons file Complaints and present their own cases before it. These Frequently Asked Questions (and those in the section of the Board's website entitled, "Overview of the Mediation/Arbitration and Arbitration Process") are designed to help. You may decide, however, that your case is sufficiently important or complicated that legal advice or representation is necessary. That is up to you.

Yes. If you choose to be represented by somebody, they would make all submissions on your behalf, except for your own testimony. In the alternative, you can present your own case. Either way, you may be accompanied by others (hearings are normally open to the public) but such support persons will not be permitted to speak unless they are testifying. See the Board's Rule 11.

If you decide to hire a lawyer, you are responsible for all fees and disbursements. That is true whether you win or lose your case.

Each party is responsible for all costs they incur throughout the PSGB's process. If the Board finds in your favour, it will decide on an appropriate remedy for the wrong that you have suffered, but that will not include reimbursement for the costs incurred in the hearing process. Similarly, if you lose your case, you will not be responsible for paying any of the other parties' costs.

The Board makes every effort to issue its decisions promptly. Of course, final decisions can only be made once all the evidence and arguments have been submitted. Sometimes they will be issued within a few days; sometimes several weeks or months from the completion of final submissions. The speed with which your particular decision may be issued will depend on several factors, including the complexity of your case and how much evidence was heard.

Decisions of the Board are final (see section 26 of the Act). However, the Board’s Rule 26 allows it to reconsider, vary or revoke its decisions. You could therefore ask the Board to reconsider its decision, by way of a letter or email addressed to the Registrar which must also be delivered to the other party or parties involved in your case. You would have to provide a very compelling reason to persuade the Board why it should do so. Such reasons usually involve exceptional circumstances. For more details about how and when the Board applies its power to reconsider, see its Practice Note #7.

While the Board’s decisions are not subject to appeal, they are subject to judicial review by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. However, the Court gives the Board’s decisions a degree of deference because of its specialized expertise. Legal advice should be sought as to the circumstances when judicial review may be an appropriate next step, as there is a high threshold for a decision of the Board to be set aside by the Court.

Yes, oral hearings (unlike mediations) are usually open to the public and the Board's decisions are public. In practise, however, it is uncommon for someone not directly involved in the case to attend a hearing. Once a final decision is issued, it is normally available on the internet on the CanLII website: https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onpsgb/ . Public hearings are generally required by section 9 of the Statutory Powers Procedure Act. Exceptions may occur, where the Board is of the opinion that:

Matters involving public security may be disclosed; or
Intimate financial or personal matters or other matters may be disclosed of such a nature that avoiding disclosure in the interests of the person affected or in the public interest outweighs the principle that hearings be open to the public.

In such cases, the Board may hold the hearing in the absence of the public.

See the Board's Practice Note #5 regarding the Board's process when individuals or media representatives request access to documents filed with the Board.

See the Board's Practice Note #4 regarding the Board's process and policies if somebody wants to ask for a confidentiality order regarding certain information or documents that are filed with the Board during a proceeding. Such requests may be made by one of the parties to the proceeding, or by a person who is not a party to the proceeding who would be affected by the disclosure of the information.

It is not uncommon that the Board receives numerous Complaints about the same or similar issues from various OPS employees. The Board may group them and either hear them concurrently or may hear one or several "leading" or "representative cases" first. If your case has been held back until another case has been decided, it will be considered after the first case is resolved. The parties may then decide whether the same results should apply to your case, or whether there are distinguishing factors that should be argued before the Board. If the latter applies to your case, hearings will be scheduled by the Board in consultation with the parties.

The list of current Board members and their biographies can be found at Members of the Board Page . All of its members are experienced labour and employment practitioners who engage in practices as independent mediators and arbitrators.

While Board members are paid by the government for the days they dedicate to hearing and deciding PSGB cases, they work independently. Their decisions are not subject to the approval of any government entity. Their work at the PSGB is part-time and they carry on independent adjudication practices elsewhere as well. They are appointed by Order-in-Council, for specific multi-year terms. Their decisions are subject to judicial review by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, in limited circumstances.

Questions about the PSGB's process (but not requests for legal advice) may be directed to the Registrar at psgb.psgb@ontario.ca or 416-326-1382.

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Frequently Asked Questions

NOTES:

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

1. Does the Board provide any legal advice about my employment concerns?

2. Who can bring a Complaint to the PSGB?

3. Who cannot bring a Complaint to the PSGB?

4. If I am employed with a provincial board, commission or tribunal, can I bring a Complaint to the PSGB?

5. What kinds of Complaints can be filed with the Board?

6. Is the PSGB the only place where my concerns about my rights as an OPS manager can be dealt with?

7. What is the Notice of Proposal to file a Complaint?

8. To whom must your Notice of Proposal be given?

9. How soon after an incident must a Notice of Proposal be given?

10. If I have left the employ of the Province, can I still bring a Complaint?

11. What steps must be taken before a Complaint can be properly filed with the PSGB?

12. I gave my Notice of Proposal to file a Complaint to my Deputy Minister but I never had my meeting, so what do I do?

13. What if they will not talk to me? I didn't get a response to my email to the Deputy Minister.

14. Must I be actively at work to take any of the steps outlined above? Do the time periods run when I am away from work?

15. What is the process for reprisal Complaints related to political activity or whistleblowing? How do they differ?

16. How do I file a Complaint with the Board?

17. What documents should be included with my Complaint to the Board?

18. How much information do I have to put in my Complaint? What if I miss something, can I add it later?

19. I received the Board's acknowledgement letter, now what?

20. What is the process once I send my Complaint to the Board?

21. How come the employer's counsel is not available on the many dates that the Board has offered? Why does the Board accommodate that?

22. Can I insist that my Complaint be heard on its merits?

23. Is a Case Management Meeting or conference call different than a hearing or mediation?

24. What do I need to bring or prepare for a case management meeting or conference call?

25. What happens at the end of the case management meeting or conference call?

26. If the Board has scheduled a mediation in my case, rather than a formal hearing, what if any documents must I submit ahead of my mediation or bring to it? Do I need to bring any other evidence or witnesses?

27. What does the Arbitrator/Mediator do?

28. What happens if the case doesn't settle at mediation?

29. If I require documents from the Employer for my case, how do I submit disclosure requests? To whom?

30. I want to ask the arbitrator assigned to my application a question, how do I contact him/her?

31. Do I have to get a lawyer to bring my case before the PSGB?

32. Can I bring a support person to a PSGB proceeding?

33. If I hire a lawyer, who pays? If I have to pay for my lawyer and then I win, does the employer reimburse my legal fees?

34. What about other costs? If the Board finds in my favour, what will happen to my application?

35. How long will it take to receive my decision?

36. If I disagree with the final decision of the Board, what are my options?

37. Will this process be public? Will others see the decision?

38. If my Complaint is listed with a group and is not the first to be heard, what implications does this have for my Complaint?

39. Who are the Board members that might hear my case and what are their backgrounds?

40. If Board members are paid by the government, how can they be neutral?

41. Who do I call at the PSGB if I have a question?