Sick pay denied following elective procedure
A northern Ontario hospital network did not breach contract when it denied a nurse sick pay benefits despite the union’s protest, an arbitrator has decided.
The Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) filed a grievance against MICs Group of Health Services — a hospital network in northern Ontario — after J. Mayer, a nurse, was denied short term disability pay for a shift worked in June 2015.
The particular clause in the collective agreement in question is also governed by the Hospitals of Ontario Disability Income Plan.
On the day for which Mayer sought benefit pay, she had a colonoscopy scheduled. The procedure is one that requires the patient to not eat solid food beforehand.
Both parties agreed to the fact that Mayer was totally disabled for the entirety of that day in June.
The ONA argued that Mayer’s total disability was clearly related to the medically necessary colonoscopy, and therefore she would be entitled to benefits under the income plan and collective agreement.
Though the provision does name some exclusions, Mayer’s procedure would not qualify for inclusion on that list, the association added.
However, the hospital countered that the colonoscopy was not a medical necessity but rather an elective procedure, thereby relieving any obligation for compensation.
The grievor did not suffer an injury or illness and was not disabled as a result of undergoing the colonoscopy, the employer said.
To provide a benefit in these circumstances is akin to providing benefits when employees undergo any medical procedure that result in them having to rest for the remainder of the day, it said.
The qualifier in the collective agreement removed the employer’s obligation in this case:
"(W)hen you become totally disabled as a result of injury or illness."
In making his decision, arbitrator William Marcotte sought to establish whether Mayer’s so-called disability was a debilitating one, and therefore would determine benefit pay, if entitled to any.
He found no evidence to suggest she was ill or injured prior to the procedure, nor could it be proven that the procedure caused her injury or illness.
Therefore, the grievance was dismissed.
Reference: MICs Group of Health Services and the Ontario Nurses’ Association. R. Hickman for the employer, C. Hedman for the union. William Marcotte — arbitrator. Oct. 15, 2015.
