Coquitlam arborist fired over 29 hours of time theft to get job back

A City of Coquitlam field arborist fired after an investigation found he had taken more than 29 hours of unauthorized break time will return to work after a labour arbitrator ruled dismissal was excessive.

On Aug. 19, arbitrator Christopher Foy ordered the city to reinstate Aidon Pyne to his former position effective Sept. 8. Pyne will not receive back pay, but will retain his seniority. He had worked for Coquitlam for about 14 years before being fired in December 2025.

The case concerned a city investigation that examined GPS data from Pyne’s work vehicle, work records and information from the fitness-tracking app Strava. The city found Pyne had taken 1,762 minutes, or just over 29 hours, of unauthorized break time over 14 days between May and October 2025.

Foy accepted the city’s evidence and found the conduct amounted to time theft serious enough to warrant discipline. He ruled, however, that termination went too far because the trust fundamental to the employment relationship was not irreparably broken.

The investigation began after the city received an unrelated complaint on June 30, 2025, alleging that a municipal vehicle had been parked for hours during the workday at a residential condominium complex. Investigators found that two employees had used a city gym for longer than their allotted lunch breaks. One said he had also seen members of the city’s tree crew at the gym, prompting the city to expand the investigation to the entire five-member crew. Pyne was a member of that crew.

Pyne had previously served as a working foreman and spent 14 months as acting manager of urban forestry and the cemetery before returning to a field arborist role after a 2023 reorganization. The city audited GPS records for his assigned vehicle from May 1 to Oct. 24, 2025.

Investigators found the vehicle spent longer than permitted break periods at the JJ Bean coffee shop on Ponderosa Street and at a location on Cortes Avenue, where Pyne parked before running near the Coquitlam River. City work-management records showed no tree work or service requests at either location during the extended stops.

On the 14 days selected by the city, the excess break time ranged from 74 to 169 minutes a day. Foy rejected CUPE Local 386’s argument that the total should be reduced, finding the city had established all 1,762 minutes. He also found the conduct was not an isolated lapse: Pyne knew his permitted break time, had been going to the coffee shop for breaks for about a year and had a regular lunchtime running routine.

Foy said time theft is a serious offence regardless of the amount involved, particularly for an employee who largely works without supervision. He found Pyne’s lunch running routine to be part of a sustained, premeditated pattern of misconduct.

The union also argued that the city had breached Pyne’s privacy rights by using GPS and Strava information. Foy rejected both arguments. Coquitlam has had a GPS policy since 2014 that permits the technology to be used for purposes including complaint and incident investigations. He found the city had a legitimate reason to examine the records after receiving information that tree-crew employees might be taking excessively long breaks, and that employees had received sufficient notice of GPS monitoring through measures including decals on municipal vehicles.

Pyne used Strava to track lunchtime runs, sometimes alone and sometimes with other tree-crew members. Some runs were shared with about 18 followers, including city colleagues, while others were more broadly public. A city manager gave investigators relevant posts. Foy found Pyne had no reasonable expectation that the posts would remain private because recipients were not restricted from sharing them.

Factors against Pyne included a two-day suspension in 2024 for insubordination and unprofessional, confrontational workplace conduct. He was also a senior employee and former manager who generally worked without direct supervision. Foy nevertheless found that Pyne had sincerely apologized and accepted responsibility. During the investigation, Pyne described his actions as terrible time management and said the amount of time involved was unacceptable; at the hearing, he apologized to both the city and taxpayers.

Foy cited Pyne’s 14 years of service and found his prospects for good behaviour were strong. Although the seriousness and repeated nature of the misconduct supported significant discipline, the arbitrator concluded termination was excessive. The union had proposed a five-day suspension, which Foy found too lenient.

Instead, Pyne will effectively serve a lengthy unpaid suspension from his Dec. 5, 2025 dismissal until his Sept. 8 reinstatement. Foy noted that Pyne was the most senior member of the tree crew and that every member of the crew had been terminated for time theft. He ruled that a significant unpaid suspension appropriately recognized the seriousness of Pyne’s conduct and the city’s need for a high level of trust. Foy also denied the union’s request for damages over the use of the GPS and Strava information.