Manager's chilling words went undisclosed
TORONTO — A former account executive at Juice Mobile (a subsidiary of Yellow Pages) recently discovered his former boss had delivered a chilling death threat against him that was never disclosed.
Via text message, Ben Hemming’s former boss allegedly threatened to put an axe so far into his head “they would have to bury him with it,” according to the CBC.
The threat, made two years ago by Neil Sweeney, was never shared with Hemming, who was terminated without cause by Juice Mobile as part of “normal business activities.”
Hemming challenged his dismissal, and found the text in court documents.
Three months following Hemming’s dismissal, Sweeney was fired by Yellow Pages after an investigation revealed he had engaged in bullying and harassment.
After Sweeney filed a wrongful dismissal suit, the text in question was presented as evidence.
It had been sent to Juice Mobile’s vice-president of sales at some point following Hemming’s dismissal.
A Yellow Pages lawyer told CBC the company “ensured that appropriate steps were taken in connection with Mr. Sweeney’s termination to protect the safety of the people he had threatened.”
