Public works director walks off job

This edition of You Make the Call features a public works director who walked off the job during a busy time.

Kenny Sam was hired by the Tl’azt’en Nation, a First Nations community in north central British Columbia, in 2006 to be its public works director. He was responsible for the maintenance and operation of community infrastructures and capital projects, as well as supervising public works employees and preparing budgets and reports.

The Tl’azt’en Nation had a policy employees had to sign that stipulated any absence for more than five consecutive days without permission or a good reason would be considered a voluntary resignation. Employees were also required to call their supervisor first thing in the morning if they were going to be absent or late, and formal approval was required for leaves. In the case of medical leaves, a medical note was required for absences of more than three days.