A Covid-19 vaccine mandate for city employees has led to a quarter-million-dollar lawsuit between a former Fredericton firefighter and his ex-employer.
Gregory Billings, who resigned from his position as captain of the New Brunswick city’s fire prevention division after 21 years of service, is suing the city for $280,000 in compensation and damages.
He claims he was misled by city human resources staff into believing he would lose his severance and pension if he was terminated for refusing to comply with the vaccine policy.
Instead of waiting to be terminated, Billings claims he was led to believe that resigning from his position would lead to a better outcome and his entitled benefits.
The lawsuit, filed on Dec. 14, also accuses the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1053, Billings’s former union, of failing its duty to provide a member with proper representations by not filing a grievance on his behalf.
“The plaintiff relied on the misrepresentations of the City of Fredericton that retirement was being offered to him and suffered damages as a result through loss of his severance pay and loss of a portion of his pension,” writes lawyers.
The city and the union have not yet filed statements of defence and declined to comment on the matter. The allegations have not been proven in court.
True North was unable to reach the union for comment.
Billings said he was earning about $140,000 per year, including overtime, when he was sent home without pay on Sep. 3, 2021, for not following the masking and testing protocols for unvaccinated staff.
“The plaintiff was subsequently informed in January 2022 that he was not eligible for his severance pay or deferred pension,” the claim explains.
“The City of Fredericton has breached the contract by refusing to provide the plaintiff with his retirement benefits and pension as promised in their agreement, and the plaintiff has suffered damages in the amount of his lost pension and severance as outlined in the collective agreement.”
He alleges that in October and November 2021, human resources staff gave Billings false or negligent information claiming he would forfeit his retirement severance and pension benefits if he was fired for not getting vaccinated.
He says he was told that he would receive those benefits after resigning voluntarily, which he did on or around Dec. 15, 2021, after the city introduced a mandatory vaccination policy.
