Judge awards over $50,000 to Richard Schick after finding UNB’s response to complaints too severe
A New Brunswick court has ruled that the University of New Brunswick (UNB) wrongfully dismissed its women’s volleyball coach, Richard Schick, after a series of harassment complaints from players and staff.
Justice E. Thomas Christie found that, while some of the complaints against Schick were substantiated, the university failed to use progressive discipline before terminating his fixed-term contract in October 2023.
Schick, who was hired in May 2021 on a three-year contract, was let go after five team members and a team therapist filed complaints with the university’s Human Rights & Positive Environment Office in May 2023. The university responded by hiring an independent investigator and placing Schick on paid leave.
Investigation reveals mixed findings
The investigation, conducted by Kelly Van Buskirk, reviewed 30 incidents and found nine to be “founded,” mostly involving Schick’s “aggressive use of profanity toward his players and the impact that left on them.” The report also cited an incident where Schick put a player in “timeout” and slammed a ball into the floor while shouting loudly.
However, the report noted that “the evidence does not support allegations that the [coach] jeopardized the physical safety of players on the team.”
Van Buskirk’s report acknowledged that Schick “was advised during and after the 2021-2022 preseason tournament that his language and behaviour was inappropriate, and he acknowledged the same.”
The report also found that Schick “was self-reflective regarding his conduct at various times and often accepted feedback from players and team staff when it was provided. He has also acknowledged and apologized for his conduct at certain points during his tenure.”
University fires coach after report
After reviewing the investigation, Kathy Wilson, UNB’s Vice-Provost, met with both Schick and the complainants before deciding to terminate his employment.
“After consideration of the report, and my discussion with both the [coach] and the complainants, I accepted the finding contained in the report that [he] violated the policy, and that his continued employment with UNB was no longer possible,” she stated.
UNB said the circumstances, when looked at as a whole, left the university with no choice as the complaints of harassment were significant, and some of the allegations were found by an independent investigation to be valid, said the decision.
The university felt the behaviour of Schick “represented violations of the essential terms and conditions of his employment and was inconsistent with Mr. Schick’s fundamental duties,” said the court, and “Schick’s behaviour created a poisoned work environment, so to speak, which could not be remedied under his continued leadership.
“Progressive discipline was not an option, UNB believed, given the impact Mr. Schick’s conduct had on the team. The players were in a vulnerable position.”
Court finds dismissal disproportionate
However, Justice Christie found that the university’s response was disproportionate: “While discipline was certainly warranted (and that can run from verbal warnings to written warnings, through to suspensions, and ultimately termination), in my view, the grounds asserted fall short of justifying summary dismissal. Mr. Schick was entitled to some degree of progressive discipline.”
The judge noted that not all violations of a harassment policy require termination, especially when some complaints were unfounded and the coach had shown willingness to improve.
“In this case, the investigative finding was that Mr. Schick’s behaviour violated the policy in certain ways, but that some of the complaints were unfounded. In addition, Dr. Van Buskirk found that Mr. Schick had a degree of insight into his issues and the willingness to address them. These are factors which, in my view, support the application of progressive discipline.”
Justice Christie ordered the university to pay Schick $43,910 for the balance of his contract, along with employer pension and CPP contributions, bringing the total to $50,920, plus costs and interest.
