Canadian HR Reporter

Canadian HR RepoRteR august 11, 2014 EmpLOYmENT LAw 5 CPASource.com CPAs are Canada's most knowledgeable, skilled and respected accounting and business professionals. And this is where to find them. HIRE A PRO. Mosaic Potash too suspicious of timing around medical leave: arbitrator Employee at potash mine went on stress leave after vacation request denied a saskatchewan employer did not have just cause to dismiss an employee who was observed doing landscape work while on medical leave for stress, an arbi- trator has ruled. Steve Fonstad began employment as a labourer with Mosaic Potash, a potash mine operator near Co- lonsay, Sask., in October 2007. He was eventually promoted to the position of rehab operator, a position that involved operating a large machine underground that ran a scoop behind the mining machine that cut rock. Fonstad had a clean disciplinary record with Mosaic. e company had a common practice employees followed when they took vacation leave. ey were required to complete an absence authorization form, which described the period of time for which the request was being made. Employees then submitted the form to a supervisor for approval, who then forwarded it to the su- perintendent for final approval. On May 8, 2012, Fonstad com- pleted an absence authorization form requesting vacation leave on May 22 and returning May 28. e reason for the request was that he wanted to attend his grandmoth- er's birthday celebration. His supervisor initially ap- proved the request and passed it along to the superintendent. Fonstad also had a wedding he wanted to attend in June so, on the same day, he completed another form requesting vacation from June 7 to 14. He then submitted the second form to a different supervisor, who also approved it and for- warded it to the superintendent. Fonstad later testified that the first supervisor had already left the mine and the second su- pervisor was there at the end of his shift, which is why he gave the second form to a different supervisor. Vacation conflict However, Mosaic had a vacation shutdown scheduled in July and employees were required to keep 80 hours of vacation time available to use during the shutdown. Fons- tad had 120 hours of vacation time available, but his two requests to- talled 70 hours. When Fonstad's requests were processed, his June vacation request was cancelled. Fonstad told his regular super- visor he would prefer to cancel the May request and take the June vacation, and the supervisor said he would take care of it. However, Fonstad later received documen- tation approving both vacation requests. Confused, Fonstad went to the HR department for an explana- tion. He then met with his super- visor, who advised him it was an error and his May leave wasn't approved. He asked why both requests were approved, but the supervisor just said he couldn't take both. According to Fonstad, the su- pervisor became loud and intimi- dating, making him upset. Fons- tad said he was going to HR to talk about how he was being treated. e next day, feeling stressed from the meeting, Fonstad felt he couldn't go underground and safely operate heavy machinery. He decided to take the one per- sonal day provided for in the col- lective agreement. He called the mine before his shift and informed the second supervisor he was taking the day off for personal reasons, which followed protocol. e supervi- sor later called back to check on him, as he was concerned about Fonstad after his reaction to the vacation request confusion. Fonstad's next scheduled shift was on May 22, the first day of his original vacation request. He was still feeling stressed and he was also experiencing pain in his testicles, so he called in before his shift and said he wasn't coming in to work. But the supervisor was suspi- cious Fonstad was using sick leave to get the week off that he origi- nally wanted, and he told Fonstad "We're not taking it" and "We can't accept this." at day, Fonstad saw his doc- tor, who recommended he take three weeks off work. He stayed home and didn't go to his grand- mother's birthday party that week. He called Mosaic's occupation- al health nurse and reported he would be off work for three weeks due to stress and situational anxi- ety stemming from conflict with "people at work," as well as health problems for which he would be getting tests done the following week. He then sent Mosaic a doctor's note stating he would be off work for three weeks "due to medical reasons." A couple of weeks later, Fons- tad provided a second note from his doctor stating he was off work for "situational anxiety." Fonstad wORKER > pg. 7 e supervisor was suspicious Fonstad was using sick leave to get the week off that he originally wanted, and told Fonstad "we're not taking it" and "we can't accept this." Jeffrey Smith Legal View

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