Worker claimed to need modified work but took another job without telling employer
Usually, it’s not a good idea for an employer to fire an employee who is on medical leave — especially if the leave is due to conditions exacerbated by workplace stress and is supported by medical documentation. However, it may be a different story if the employer finds out the employee has taken another job while still off work.
David Vine was a dispatcher for Eclipse Delivery & Logistics Solutions, a trucking company specializing in local cartage based in Ottawa with another facility in Peterborough, Ont. He initially joined Eclipse as a truck driver in 2008 and worked in that position for several years on a contract basis. In 2012 he became a salaried employee and moved to other positions within the company, including that of dispatcher.
Vine didn’t get along particularly well with the dispatcher who worked the alternate shift from his. By April 2015, the tension between the dispatchers was causing concern for Eclipse, as were other issues Vine was having at work. Vine was called to a meeting at the end of April to discuss the issues, and a short time later — in May 2015 — Vine went off work, complaining of panic attacks and symptoms from colitis, which is an inflammation of the lining of the colon.
Vine provided a note from his physician advising that he needed to be off work for medical reasons and applied for long-term disability benefits. However, the benefits provider eventually denied his claim for benefits a few months later and Vine didn’t appeal the decision.
A short time after going off work, Vine asked Eclipse if there was any work he could do from home. However, the company replied that there was none available and he could only work if he could come into the office.
In the fall of 2015, Vine started working part-time as a truck driver with a competitor of Eclipse in the Belleville, Ont., area. He did not notify Eclipse of his new employment.
In February 2016, Vine provided Eclipse with another medical note that stated he suffered from “panic attacks secondary to generalized anxiety disorder that started in December 2014” when he was working as a dispatcher. The note went on to say that Vine experienced increasing stress over time because of another dispatcher and the company’s failure to listen to his concerns about that dispatcher. The physician concluded that the panic attacks and flare-ups of colitis that manifested in April 2015 were a culmination of the anxiety Vine had suffered since December 2014 and were precipitated by the change in his workplace environment — the employer’s meeting and increased scrutiny of Vine’s relationship with his colleague — that increased his stress.
Eclipse soon learned that Vine was working part-time for a competitor and determined he had abandoned his position. The company terminated his employment in April 2016.
“The termination is based on your inability to return to work citing ‘unable to return to work for medical reasons’ yet we have been informed that you are working for one of our competitors,” the termination letter stated. “Further, you made no attempt to contact us to indicate that you are healthy enough to work.”
Vine sued Eclipse for unjust dismissal under the Canada Labour Code for terminating his employment while he was off work on medical leave.
The adjudicator noted that according to the medical information Vine had provided — the medical notes in May 2015 and February 2016 — Vine was unable to work because of conditions exacerbated by the workplace and his interaction with the other dispatcher. However, when Vine started working as a part-time truck driver in the fall of 2015, it contradicted the medical information he provided. In addition, Vine’s failure to inform Eclipse of his new employment meant he was not updating the company on his true condition. When Eclipse found out about Vine’s new job, it was reasonable for the company to conclude Vine did not want to return to work for it and that he had abandoned his position, said the adjudicator.
The adjudicator determined that Eclipse had just cause to terminate Vine’s employment and dismissed Vine’s complaint.
“(Vine) was capable of working as a truck driver but chose not to return to work with (Eclipse),” the adjudicator said. See Vine and Eclipse Delivery & Logistics Solutions Inc., Re 2016 CarswellNat 6747 (Can. Lab. Code Adj.).
