The house loses again: Court dismisses SIGA's appeal of $1.2M awarded to wrongfully fired worker

The Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) couldn't convince a panel of judges to overturn a decision that awarded a wrongfully fired worker $1.2 million to cover long-term disability costs, plus $50,000 in damages for SIGA's "reprehensible behaviour" during the 12-year legal battle.

Last week, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal dismissed SIGA's appeal of a 2022 decision that found the casino operator wrongfully fired Chadwick 'Chad' Pasap, a longtime employee at Bear Claw Casino near Carlyle, Sask.

The earlier court decision awarded Pasap $1.2 million in damages for lost long-term disability payments for his wrongful termination in 2012 and chided SIGA for its conduct during legal proceedings. 

"I agree that SIGA engaged in reprehensible behaviour by fabricating the reason Mr. Pasap left his employment and then by maintaining that position for close to ten years," Justice Janice McMurty wrote in her decision.

Pasap worked his way up from a general labourer to a facilities manager supervising other employees. A back injury put him on temporary disability leave, but shortly after returning to work in 2012 he was fired.

SIGA argued Pasap resigned his position and therefore did not qualify for benefits. Pasap argued he was given a choice by his manager: resign or be fired. SIGA claimed Pasap's job performance sharply declined, but the court noted SIGA failed to present any evidence proving so.

The complexity of the case stemmed from the "notice period" — the set amount of time a dismissed employee remains eligible for benefits when given sufficient notice of termination.

A few months after he was fired, Pasap suffered congestive heart failure, which required multiple surgeries and left him with long-term disabilities.

"Had [Pasap] not been wrongfully dismissed or fired, he would have been eligible for long-term disability benefits," said Regina-based lawyer Jeff Grubb, who represented Pasap during the appeal.

"Since he was wrongfully fired, he didn't have access to those benefits through the benefits provider. And so in accordance with the law, when that happens, the employer becomes liable for those lost benefits."

The initial court decision ruled SIGA failed to follow its own employment policies when it dismissed Pasap and therefore he was eligible for long-term disability benefits until age 65. Pasap was 47 when SIGA fired him in 2012. The court ruled that Pasap's notice period would have been eight months, had SIGA properly dismissed him.

Grubb said Pasap was very active and respected on White Bear First Nation, but that's changed since the heart failure.

"Chad has really struggled since the medical incident," Grubb said. "He's tried to work and he's had difficulty doing it. He's just not the same person he was before. So that's been a challenge for him. But he perseveres."

SIGA declined to comment for this story.

SIGA runs seven casinos across the province and reported $138.8 million in profit on revenue of $346.6 million in the 2023-24 fiscal year.