Canadian Labour Reporter

APRIL 14, 2014 8 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2014 why she lied about the letter in the first place, the officer said she was doing what she thought would be best for her family. CUPE argued that, while her actions were wrong, termination was excessive. "(We) do not dispute that Ms. X's dishonesty has given the employer some cause for discipline and agree that the city has the right to expect its employees to be honest," the union said during the hearing. "However, while the mitigating factors here do not excuse the conduct, they are sufficient to support the conclusion that the termination was unwarranted and a lesser penalty should be substituted." Given the nature of her job, trust is paramount, the city ar- gued. Dishonest conduct can occur in a number of ways, but it is the act of dishonesty itself that goes to the root of the employ- ment relationship. It was not enough for the employee to say she was stressed out or that she is now sorry. "Ms. X chose her own interests over those of her employer for a slight personal benefit and then lied about it, all of which amounts to a breach of trust that renders the employment rela- tionship irreparable," the city said. Credibility is key, said arbitrator Julie Nichols. Because of the nature of a bylaw officer's work — in particular, testifying in court — the employer's concern that Ms. X's credibility would become a liability was upheld. "The falsification of a city document by a city bylaw officer is a form of severe misconduct," Nichols said in her decision. "Its alteration was for her personal benefit, and it directly related to and undermined representations made by the city in one of its own documents," she added as she dismissed the grievance. Reference: City of Kamloops and the Canadian Union of Public Em- ployees (CUPE) Local 900. Julie Nichols — arbitrator. Donald Jordan for the employer, Anthony Glavin for the union. March 17, 2014. Medical curiosity kills therapist's career CURIOSITY kILLED THE career of a Saskatchewan-based physi- cal therapist. Joan McHattie, a physical therapist with 25 years of service and a clean discipline record, was fired after accessing the per- sonal health information of 99 patients without authorization. The persons affected were not McHattie's patients, nor were they within her circle of care. Personal health information is con- fidential and restricted to health care providers on a need-to- know basis. The Prairie North Health Region found McHattie had no need for the medical information she accessed and dismissed her for the breach of confidentiality. Two supervisors filed reports on McHattie's breaches of con- fidentiality. In one incident, a supervisor became aware McHat- tie was accessing information on someone connected to the workplace. The second incident involved McHattie attempting to share with a supervisor the personal health information of a prominent member of the community who had recently died. The reports led to an audit of the employer's Picture Archiving & Communication System (PACS), which revealed McHattie had accessed patient records multiple times, resulting in as many as 438 breaches of confidentiality over a period of several years. The names of patients whose information McHattie accessed in- cluded co-workers, supervisors, senior management, members of McHattie's family and prominent members of the community. McHattie maintained she did not know it was wrong to access the personal health information in PACS outside of her circle of care, as long as the information was not shared with others or used for improper purposes. She testified she accessed the confi- dential information out of "medical curiosity." In May 2012 McHattie asked facility operations manager Lau- rie Gillespie for the name of a co-worker's husband. He had re- cently suffered an injury and McHattie said she wanted to look him up on PACS. Gillespie wanted to report the incident but an employee she felt comfortable speaking with was on maternity leave, and Gillespie chose to wait for that employee's return in October 2012 before filing a report. In September 2012 McHattie brought up the recent death of a prominent community member with facility supervisor Car- ol Freeman. She testified McHattie then proceeded to type the man's name into PACS to pull up his information. Freeman testi- fied she told McHattie it was wrong to access the information. On Dec. 6, 2012, McHattie was asked to attend a meeting concerning a privacy issue. Following the meeting McHattie was fired for "unethical and untrustworthy behavior," which the em- ployer called inconsistent with her professional obligations as a health care provider. The Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan filed a grievance on McHattie's behalf. The union argued termination was excessive when McHattie's disciplinary record was previ- ously unblemished. It requested she be reinstated and compen- sated for any lost wages and benefits. The union also questioned the checks and balances put in place by the employer, arguing that had McHattie been properly trained in the issue of confidentiality and disciplined immediately after her breaches of confidentiality were discovered, she would not have continued to access the personal health information of patients outside her circle of care for such an extended period. If necessary, the union submitted McHattie be reinstated with- out compensation until her return to work and that her reinstate- ment be subject to conditions restricting her access to electroni- cally stored personal health information. The arbitration board, however, found these conditions did not do enough to mitigate the risk of relapse. "The sheer magnitude of the confidentiality breaches perpe- trated on such a diverse group of the public, at times on a daily basis over an extended period of time, is so appalling that we are not prepared to set aside the discharge," the board ruled. "This is not a case that lends itself to progressive discipline and the rehabilitation of the grievor." The grievance was dismissed. Reference: Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations, Rep- resenting the Prairie North Health Region and the Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan. William F.J. Hood, Al Shalansky and Michele Vogt — Arbitration board. Marilyn Penner for the employer and Peter J. Barnacle for the union. Feb. 5, 2014.

• Cover