Former parking cashiers of Northlands want to set the record straight. They say they have struggled to find work amid allegations that they were stealing parking fees.
Nineteen former parking cashiers are suing Northlands for $9.7 million for defamation and wrongful dismissal after they were terminated on Oct. 5, 2015.
The group filed the lawsuit in March 2016.
Janet Roberts worked for Northlands for more than three years and was a supervisor at the time.
“I’ve never stolen, they have no proof,” Roberts said Monday outside court.. “I’ve never had to deal with this kind of crap before. All I want is the truth.”
Roberts was one of several plaintiffs at the Alberta Court of Appeal Monday to hear Northlands argue there is no case for defamation.
The organization filed for an appeal after Court of Queen’s Bench Justice James Neilson rejected an application in January to remove defamation from the lawsuit.
Monday, the three judges on the appeal court reserved their decision.
Proof of defamation
To prove defamation, it must be clear that words that could tarnish someone’s reputation were referred specifically to that person. They must published or communicated to more than that person.
Lawyer David Risling argued Monday that Northlands did not defame the cashiers.
Risling recounted that Northlands called a meeting Oct. 5 for personnel only to inform 38 parking cashiers that they were terminated.
The organization then sent a follow-up email to employees only, Risling said.
But the plaintiffs said the email had been sent to about 3600 people, including volunteers and former employees.
A second email informed employees that Northlands had two audits done to find efficiencies in the business, one by KPMG and an internal one by Edmonton International Airport.
“The result of these audits provided compelling evidence that theft within the department was occurring on between 12-19 per cent of all transactions,” amounting to an estimated loss in excess of $1 million, the email said.
The plaintiffs argue the email contained damaging language.
“Although not everyone may have been part of the problem, it was evident that many people in the department were participating in the theft or aware of the issue,” it said, in part.
Risling argued that the employees wouldn’t be identifiable because they were never named or targeted individually.
“Groups are not capable of being defamed,” he told court.
Outside court, Roberts noted that naming the organization, the department the employees work in, and their position as parking cashiers made it obvious who they are.
“As soon as I put that on my resumé, bingo, guess who I am?”
A few days after Northlands terminated the parking cashiers, CEO and president Tim Reid told media that the organization was losing $1 million a year, connected to employees skimming parking fees.
After that, prospective employers associated their names with thieving parking attendants and refused their job applications, Roberts told CBC News.
“You get rejection letters from McDonald’s or Tim Hortons and you have years of experience in management and you can’t get a job,” she said.
Two audits
During the hearing Monday, Justice Sheila Greckol noted that neither the KPMG nor the EIA audit mentioned theft as a reason behind the loss of revenue.
The EIA audit noted procedural issues to explain in part why revenues didn’t match the number of people going through the turnstiles.
Neilson noted in his January decision that the plaintiffs pointed out that parking passes issued for special events would not show up as cash transactions within the parking department.
Other vehicles, including police and security vehicles, would not have paid for parking upon entering the property.
Ann Handfield, who worked as a parking cashier at Northlands for 33 years, attended court Monday. She spoke to CBC News outside court.
“It was like, punch me in the face,” Handfield said of being fired and accused of theft.
She said she loved her job and considered her colleagues as a family.
“I’m just devastated,” she said. “I drive by there [Northlands] and I’m just sick. It shouldn’t be that way.”
If the appeal court rejects Northlands’ bid to remove the defamation part of the lawsuit, the case will go to trial.
Glenda Pidde, the lawyer representing the former employees, said they want the chance to argue there was malicious intent behind the dismissals and allegations of theft, to sue for punitive and aggregate damages.
“A job is integral to part of someone’s life,” Pidde said Monday.
Roberts hopes the court of appeal will allow the trial so the former employees can have their names cleared.
“We want a verbal apology,” she said. “I want my life back.”