Dartmouth, N.S., worker terminated for failure to submit medical note

Illness confirmation required by employer

After multiple attendance issues continued for years, a worker at a Nova Scotia factory was dismissed for not giving his employer a doctor’s note justifying his latest absence.
Stanley Jack worked for 10 years at Maritime Paper Products in Dartmouth, N.S., when on Friday, Jan. 5, 2018, he called in sick. The following Monday, Jack reported back at the plant.
When his supervisor asked for a note explaining the absence on Jan. 5, Jack said he didn’t have a doctor’s note, so he was sent home. The next day, he was back at work with a doctor’s note.
However, contrary to company policy, the note was prepared on Jan. 8, not Jan. 5, which is when Jack should have seen the physician. 
Jack had been experiencing attendance troubles for years: on Dec. 20, 2012, he was terminated after an absence. But on Jan. 10, 2013, he was reinstated (after signing a last-chance agreement) when the company found out about the stress that had caused the earlier absenteeism. 
In 2015, two letters were entered into Jack’s personnel file after he exceeded the limit of six absences in 12 months. However, the letters were not considered disciplinary. 
On June 21, 2016, Jack was warned by Maritime Paper that a medical certificate was required for all days off, and any further violations could be grounds for termination. 
In a letter, Jack was told he “must attend a physician’s office on the day of your illness, the note must be dated for that day, and it must clearly indicate that you were seen on that day and that you were unable to attend work due to medical reasons.”
On July 10, 2017, Jack was told that because his attendance had not improved, more detailed doctor’s notes would have to be submitted for any further illnesses. 
After he refused to bring in a note, Jack was suspended for two days. He was warned that any future absences might result in termination. 
But on Jan. 10, 2018, Jack was terminated. “You have been repeatedly warned and reminded of the requirement to bring in a note for your medical absences. Despite these warnings and a suspension, you failed once again to comply with this requirement,” said the letter of dismissal.
The union, Unifor, Local 1520, grieved the firing and argued it was too harsh a response. 
Jack testified the reason he didn’t obtain the certificate on Jan. 5 was because a snowstorm paralyzed the roads and the public was warned to minimize travel, so he didn’t go to the doctor. 
The note was dated Jan. 4, instead of Jan. 5, due to an error on Jack’s part as he worked the midnight-to-8 a.m. shift and was confused about the exact date of the sickness. 
Maritime Paper argued that Jack’s letter did not provide the required information, which meant it was insubordination on his part. 
Arbitrator Augustus Richardson upheld the grievance and ordered the company to back-pay Jack from May 26 and substitute the termination for a two-week suspension.
“The employer never seriously contested (Jack’s) evidence that he was indeed sick on Jan. 5, 2018, and that was the reason for his absence from work that day,” said Richardson. 
However, Jack didn’t fully follow the employer’s orders with the note and for that he should have been disciplined. 
“I am accordingly satisfied that (Jack’s) failure to make any attempt to comply with the employer’s instruction of June 2017 regarding the requirements for a medical certificate was insubordinate. The instruction was clear. (Jack) understood it. It was given by a person in authority who was entitled to give it. And (Jack) failed to make any effort to comply with it prior to his return to work on Jan. 8,” said Richardson. 
Reference: Maritime Paper Products and Unifor, Local 1520. Augustus Richardson — arbitrator. Roch Leblanc for the employee. Sept. 7, 2018. 2018 CarswellNS 636

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