Disability
BC HR Tribunal awards $900 in costs against former employee who tried to resile from settlement agreement
In Edwards v. Schnitzer Steel Pacific, 2012 BCHRT 335, the BC Human Rights Tribunal:
- granted the employer's application to dismiss the former employee's human rights complaint under section 27(1)(d)(ii) of the BC Human Rights Code; and
- awarded the employer $900 in costs due to the fact that the former employee had tried to resile from a settlement agreement that he had previously entered into, with the assistance of his lawyer, with the employer.
Ontario court confirms that employee with "anger management issues" not disabled under Code
In Gulick v. Ottawa Police Service, 2012 ONSC 5536, the Ontario Superior court confirmed that an employee with "anger management issues" was not disabled for the purposes of the Ontario Human Rights Code and thus not entitled to accommodation.
Specifically, the court stated the following in this case, which involved the dismissal of a police officer:
[15] While the incident giving rise to the disciplinary hearing did involve
some consumption of alcohol and medications, the Hearing Officer found as a
fact that the incident was triggered by anger management issues with which the
applicant had been struggling for several years. The Hearing Officer found
that alcohol was, at most, an exacerbating factor. We are not aware of any
jurisprudence which has established that anger management issues will support a
finding of disability.
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Heenan Blaikie analyses CSA's "Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Canadian Workplace"
In a November 3, 2011 post I reported that the Canadian Standards Association was commencing consultations on the development of a voluntary "National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace".
Two lawyers at Heenan Blaikie - Cheryl A. Edwards and Shane Todd - have now published a detailed analysis of the standard that can be found here: "National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Canadian Workplace Released".
The analysis was published the firm's January 24, 2012 OHS & Workers Compensation Management Update publication.
Ontario HR Tribunal dismisses human rights application where employee also filed wrongful dismissal court claim
In Jarrett v. Vance, 2012 HRTO 24, the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal dismissed a human rights application where the employee had also filed a wrongful dismissal claim in court.
In reaching this decision, the Tribunal stated:
I am satisfied that the applicant's Statement of Claim and this Application are based on the same facts and that both assert the same type of allegations, as well as seek similar remedies. In fact, the applicant's narrative in both the Application and the Statement of Claim are virtually identical. While the Statement of Claim makes no explicit reference to the Code, it is clear that the applicant's allegations concern the same events that are alleged to constitute discrimination and reprisal in the Application and that both assert the same rights with respect to unfair dismissal and failure to provide work read more »
Court considers right to terminate disability benefits for failure to attend Independent Medical Exam
In Nayyar v. Manufacturers Life Insurance Company/La Compagnie D'Assurance Manufactures, 2012 BCSC 28, the BC Supreme Court considered the right of the employer/disability plan administrator/insurer to terminate an employee's disability benefits for failing to attend an Independent Medical Exam ("IME").
Of specific value is this overview of the law on IME's that the court set out:
[120] Given the continuing nature of a claim under a disability policy, an insurer is entitled to information concerning the insured in order to properly assess the claimant's ongoing entitlement to receive disability benefits: Paul Revere Life Insurance Company v. Patterson, 2002 BCSC 138 (CanLII), 2002 BCSC 138 at para. 12, 99 B.C.L.R. (3d) 189. read more »
