Union argued AHS failed to accommodate by failing to consider transferable skills
Twenty-five registered nurses who helped Alberta respond to COVID-19 lost their bid for permanent positions after their temporary pandemic roles ended, but the employer's legal victory came with a sharp warning about how it handled the accommodation process.
Arbitrator Leanne Young dismissed the grievance filed by the United Nurses of Alberta on behalf of the nurses in an October 2025 decision, finding that Alberta Health Services' job qualifications were legitimate.
However, she noted significant concerns about how the employer managed the transition when temporary positions were demobilized in September 2022.
When permanent CDC positions opened
The case began in May 2020 when AHS created temporary remote positions within its Communicable Disease Control unit to address pandemic staffing needs. Roughly 35 nurses requiring medical or family status accommodations were hired for roles on COVID Contact Tracing and Outbreak teams.
When AHS posted 65 permanent CDC positions in August 2022, the original qualifications required minimum three years' experience as a registered nurse, with two years' experience in the last five years in Alberta provincial public health nursing programs and one year of experience in the last five years in provincial immunization programs.
Only two or three of the 35 accommodation-seeking nurses initially qualified.
AHS modified the requirements to accept minimum two years' experience in a full-scope role on the Outbreak Team, with consideration for leadership experience. This allowed 10 nurses to be accommodated. The remaining 25 were denied because their Contact Tracing work was deemed too scripted and narrow.
The union argued AHS failed its duty to accommodate by rigidly applying qualifications without considering transferable skills. AHS defended the modified qualifications as necessary to meet Medical Officers of Health legislative requirements and maintain patient safety, arguing Contact Tracing work lacked the independent critical thinking required for permanent CDC roles involving expertise on over 60 notifiable diseases and outbreak management.
Accommodation process criticized
Young upheld the qualifications as bona fide occupational requirements under the Supreme Court's Meiorin test. "I find that the employer has demonstrated undue hardship," Young wrote. "I find that having accommodated all 25 of the affected members in position they were not qualified to perform would have created undue hardship."
However, Young criticized AHS's approach. The employer lacked a coherent accommodation plan when demobilization was discussed as early as summer 2021. Accommodation requests were received through various channels, creating arbitrary outcomes where some nurses who could self-advocate secured positions while others did not.
"While I have dismissed this grievance for the reasons set out above, I note that I have concerns with the manner in which the employer conducted itself through the accommodation process," Young stated. She emphasized that AHS's duty to accommodate the 25 nurses continues: "I have dismissed this grievance but with the caveat that the employer has an ongoing duty to accommodate the remaining affected members."
The case involved collective agreement provisions requiring the employer to exercise management rights in a manner "professional, fair and reasonable in the circumstances" and Letter of Understanding 15, which committed both parties to providing "meaningful work" through accommodation processes.
