Doctor told employer dates didn't match up
After she took time off for what she claimed was an illness, a worker copied and pasted an old doctor‘s note with different dates, so Saskatchewan Telecommunications decided to fire her.
The woman, identified as “JV,” testified that in 2014 she suffered a series of misfortunate occurrences in her personal life, which precipitated her to forge a note. She worked at a retail location in Regina.
JV had worked for SaskTel from 2007, but on July 23, 2014, she was terminated.
The union, Unifor, Local S-1, acknowledged that JV did something wrong by falsifying the document, but said dismissal was too harsh of a punishment.
On July 4, 2014, Shirley Klein, occupational health specialist, noticed the most recent medical absence report (MAR) from JV was identical in many ways to another one she submitted earlier that year on Jan. 31.
Klein said the checkmarks matched, the reason for sickness was written in the same handwriting, but only the dates were different.
Klein faxed the notes to the doctor in question and asked him to confirm that he had seen JV on July 4.
“I am surprised to see two areas which are definitely not written by me. One date of first examination of current absence and date form completed, rest of the hand writing is mine. It seems to duplication (sic) of previous note of 31st January,” said the response.
The doctor said he had seen JV on July 1, not on July 4.
On July 15, management questioned JV about the apparent anomalies with the doctor’s note. After she denied submitting a false document, the employer decided to terminate her employment.
“Your responses were dishonest and failed to provide an acceptable explanation for your falsified claim. Your actions are considered fraudulent, an abuse of sick leave and you are deemed absent without authorization,” said the letter of termination, which was dated July 23.
The union grieved the decision, and argued that her depression and anxiety explained her actions.
The union argued that JV’s troubles worsened after she had an abortion in June 2013, which she undertook because of a failed relationship with her boyfriend (the child’s father), who was unfaithful to her.
Around the same time, she unexpectedly lost her cousin, who died in May. As well, she had been dealing with the fact her mother’s heart was operating at a reduced capacity and the sickness was hard for JV to process.
On the day JV claimed to have gone to the doctor, she called into SaskTel in the morning and left a voicemail message. Later that day, an MAR was sent via courier to her home so she could get a doctor to sign it.
JV said that she was feeling depressed that day but she didn’t want to go to the doctor because she felt that she might have been committed to the psychiatric ward.
She cut out the doctor’s information from the January note and pasted it onto the blank form before faxing it back to SaskTel.
Arbitrator Daniel Shapiro dismissed the claim and said the employer was justified in terminating JV.
“(JV’s) apology to SaskTel at her hearing, while seemingly heartfelt, might just as likely be a tactic to extricate herself from the difficult circumstances she finds herself in. She had numerous opportunities to apologize before her termination, or even afterwards. The apology she did give, well over three years post-termination, falls squarely in the category of ‘too little too late,’” said Shapiro.
By committing a fraudulent act, the employer-employee relationship was irretrievably broken, said the arbitrator.
“Clearly, an organization such as SaskTel, whose business involves dealing with and earning the trust of the public, must insist on honesty by its employees. And if such misconduct, which is notoriously difficult to catch, is tolerated on the part of one employee, the potential repercussions within a company the size of SaskTel would be serious indeed.”
Reference: Saskatchewan Telecommunications and Unifor, Local S-1. Daniel Shapiro — arbitrator. Stephanie Yang for the employer. Crystal Norbeck, Sam Schonhoffer for the employee. Jan. 10, 2018. 2018 CarswellSask 3
