Kimberly Rizzi and Dale Bendfeld declare they have been wrongfully dismissed and are suing the society, two board members and the RMWB.
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Two former senior workers with the host society for the 2023 Arctic Winter Video games (AWG) declare they have been wrongfully dismissed and are suing the society, two board members and the municipality.
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The lawsuits have been filed in 2022 by former AWG normal supervisor Kimberly Rizzi and her former chief of employees, Dale Bendfeld, within the Courtroom of King’s Bench. The disputes are ongoing and not one of the allegations have been confirmed in courtroom.
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The disputes started following allegations of office harassment. The AWG alleges Rizzi was fired in January 2021 after an worker made an nameless criticism about harassment.
Rizzi denies she harassed workers and claims she was given the choice to ask for a proper investigation via the municipality’s HR division. She says AWG withdrew this selection and fired her.
Earlier than becoming a member of the AWG committee, Rizzi labored on a number of massive sporting occasions in Fort McMurray. She was an worker with Suncor and on a secondment settlement. She claims Suncor fired her when the AWG advised Suncor she had been fired with trigger.
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Bendfeld claims he was additionally fired in January 2021 following one other nameless criticism. He claims he was not given particulars in regards to the alleged criticism. He additionally says he was not given a possibility to reply. Bendfeld additionally says his conduct didn’t justify his firing.
Rizzi is searching for $226,658 and Bendfeld is suing for $381,250. Statements from the AWG argue firing Rizzi and Bendfeld was justified, and the group denies any wrongdoing.
The AWG alleges Rizzi was accused of “threatening and intimidating behaviour” in direction of employees. Rizzi was advised to not speak in regards to the office investigation as soon as a evaluate started.
Nevertheless, a press release from AWG’s management claims Bendfeld talked about particulars of the investigation at a gathering. The group had not advised Bendfeld in regards to the investigation or the complaints concerning Rizzi.
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Bendfeld’s conduct was allegedly “retaliatory, harassing, threatening and/or intimidating” in direction of employees for making a criticism, based on a press release.
In each lawsuits, the RMWB denies any wrongdoing. Municipal legal professionals argue the municipality had no formal say into how the AWG host society ran its operations, and that Bendfeld and Rizzi weren’t municipal workers after they have been fired.
Fort McMurray Wooden Buffalo hosted the AWG in January 2023. The week-long occasion was devoted to celebrating the athletics and cultures of the circumpolar north. It was the most important occasion but hosted within the area. The municipality hopes to carry extra massive athletics occasions to the area following the video games.
Groups and delegations traveled from Alaska, Greenland, and the Sámi territories of Norway, Sweden and Finland. Canada despatched athletes from northern Alberta, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon and the Nunavik area of northern Quebec.
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