Employee had to take time off to prepare residence for fumigation
Preparing to have an apartment fumigated against bedbugs does not qualify as a disaster warranting special leave from work under a collective agreement, the Alberta Arbitration Board has ruled.
On July 26, 2010, an Alberta government employee was notified of the presence of bedbugs on his floor in his apartment building. His apartment was inspected and bedbugs were found. He had a fumigation scheduled for Aug. 6 and he was given a list of steps he would have to take to get his apartment and possessions ready.
The weekend before the fumigation — July 31 to Aug. 2 — was a long weekend and the employee spent about 12 hours a day over the three days preparing the apartment. He wasn’t able to finish it all, so he took three days off work — Aug. 3 to 5 — and spent more than 11 hours each day on the task, including hiring help for about four hours the day before the fumigation. He was also off work on the day of the fumigation.
The employee requested that two of the days he took be considered special leave under the collective agreement, which allowed for two days of special leave without loss of pay for “a critical condition which requires an employee’s personal attention in a disaster (flood, fire, tornado) which cannot be served by others or attended to by the employee at a time when he is normally off duty.”
The request was denied and the union filed a grievance. The union argued tenants in the employee’s building were required to do certain work before the fumigation and it required the employee’s personal attention. It also argued the number of hours the employee spent on the task showed it couldn’t be done outside his working hours only. Finally, the union claimed a bedbug infestation constituted a continuing critical condition since it was a public health issue and the employee had a responsibility to his neighbours and the building management to do his part.
The board agreed the employee could not have done everything required of him during off-duty hours and it required his personal attention. However, it found the circumstances did not qualify as a disaster. Though the collective agreement didn’t specifically define “disaster,” the board used a dictionary definition that referred to serious harm to people or widespread damage to property. The board found bedbugs were not considered to be a major health risk since they were not known to spread disease to people.
