Ex-councillor’s labour complaint dismissed
Pat Septon argued Hanwell council’s docking of his municipal pay violated Employment Standards Act, but board ruled elected representatives don’t meet definition of employee
Elected officials sitting on municipal councils don’t meet the definition of employees and can’t file complaints under the Employment Standards Act, a labour board ruled recently.
The New Brunswick Labour and Employment Board made the ruling April 8 in the case of Pat Septon, a former Hanwell councillor who was reprimanded and denied pay for six months suspended for Code of Conduct breaches in late 2022.
Septon was acclaimed to a seat on the Hanwell Rural Community council in May 2021, but he resigned in August 2023 after clashing with other members of council.
The Hanwell council voted to suspend him from his position for three months in July, alleging he had violated the councillors’ code of conduct repeatedly by spreading misinformation.
The conduct issues stemmed from comments he made on social media and online interviews about issues in Hanwell, and it was alleged he made false statements and was spreading misinformation.
He’d previously been reprimanded by council and saw his councillor’s pay withheld for six months in late 2022 for those alleged conduct issues.
The withholding of his pay prompted Septon to file a complaint with the provincial director of employment standards, and after the director found he didn’t have jurisdiction to delve into the complaint, the matter was referred to the Labour and Employment Board.