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The B.C. Labour Relations Board has dismissed an appeal from an ICBC employee who was fired for discussing how a colleague had broken her heart in a podcast.

While ICBC legal assistant Carla Sama didn't name the colleague in her podcast, the fact that she'd mentioned her workmate was in a same-sex relationship and that she had a "romantic interest" in them was enough for her to lose her job.

According to a Feb 14, B.C. Labour Relations Board decision, Sama got fired from ICBC in December 2021, a week or so after she co-hosted a podcast episode titled, "Dear Traitor, You Broke Me First."

Sama made a weekly comedy podcast called Unfiltered Girls View, and in this episode she talked about her recent heartbreak.

The summary of the podcast states: "Is one lie enough to question all truths? She goes into intimate detail with (the co-host) discussing the story of Traitor by unravelling the mystery of his double life and learning to accept the loss of his friendship. How well do you need to get to know someone to realize you’re actually strangers?"

The decision said Sama used aliases to anonymize the people discussed in the podcast, but the "Traitor" referred to a colleague and friend of hers, who she liked romantically.

Sama was good friends with the colleague and he'd lived with her for a while when he was renovating his home.

"(Sama) says she felt betrayed when she learned (the colleague) was in a same-sex relationship, and that topic was discussed in the Dear Traitor Episode," the decision read.

A week after the podcast came out Sama was pulled into her manager's office.

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She told ICBC she'd made the episode as a way of "finding closure," and agreed with its request to take the podcast down.

The decision said Sama had had a clean work record in the six years she'd been at ICBC but she was placed on a paid suspension and fired a week later.

"ICBC has determined you have engaged in bullying and harassment and sexual harassment behaviours that have resulted in a loss of trust and poisoned work environment," her termination letter read. "You... made several inappropriate and insensitive remarks about other ICBC employees.

"Some of the topics openly discussed in your podcast pertain to another employee’s sexual orientation and sexual history. You attempted to justify your behaviour and claimed that your comments were appropriate as you used alias names to refer to the other employees and that this was your personal story to share."

The letter said ICBC is "shocked" by her actions and that she broke its Code of Ethics and Respectful Workplace policy.

The Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union, Local 378 then went to bat for Sama, but six months later told her it wouldn't take the matter to arbitration.

The Union said Sama had shown no remorse and attempted to justify her actions.

"Sharing information about another employee’s sexual orientation and sexual history is 'an invasion of privacy' and could 'be interpreted to be discriminatory,'" the Union argued.

Sama argued the Union breached its duty of fair representation and conducted an insufficient investigation into what took place.

She said the Union failed to take into consideration the colleague had transferred to a different city when she made the podcast and that the two were friends.

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She also pointed out that the colleague never said he felt harassed or bullied.

She pointed out her social media accounts don't say she works for ICBC and the Union never interviewed the colleagues who could speak to her character.

However, the Labour Relations Board dismissed her arguments and said the Union had every right not to fight for her.

It appears Sama made around 20 episodes of her podcast none of which seem to be available anymore.

The decision also said Sama's co-host worked at ICBC but doesn't name them or say if they had any disciplinary action taken against them.

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