Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER March 7, 2016 18 INSIGHT MISSING IN ACTION CADIZ, SPAIN — — Sometimes, it can be hard to keep track of all your employees. at's what a lo- cal authority in Spain found out re- cently when it discovered one of its civil servants had been absent for work for six years — and possibly as many as 14 — while still being paid. Joaquin Garcia, a 69-year- old engineer, began working for his employer in 1990 and in 1996 was posted to the municipal water board as a supervisor, according to the Guardian. But in 2010, when Garcia was due to collect a long- service medal, deputy mayor Jorge Blas Fernandez, who had hired Garcia, wondered where he was and a manager at the water board confi rmed he had not seen the em- ployee for several years. Garcia was called in and admitted he had not kept regular business hours but he had been the victim of workplace bullying due to his family's social- ist politics. Apparently the water board and city council both thought Garcia was the responsibility of the other. In the end, the engineer was fi ned $41,000, the equivalent of one year of his annual salary after tax. NOT ON THE MENU JUPITER, FL. — ere's something about drive-thrus that tends to bring out the worst in people. A 23-year-old man in Jupiter, Fl., got in trouble recently when he decided to play a practical joke on a friend, according to Reuters. Joshua James went through the drive-thru of a local Wendy's restaurant in Royal Palm Beach and, after picking up his drink order, hurled a live alligator through the window. He had found the three-foot reptile on the side of the road earlier and put it into his truck. But the fun was over when James was later charged with aggravated assault and unlawful possession and transportation of an alligator. Fortunately, the gator was released back into the wild. 'STEP AWAY FROM THAT POTLUCK' APACHE JUNCTION, ARIZ. — Potluck meals are defi nitely a staple at many workplaces. But in Arizona, that's the only place where they're allowed, accord- ing to KPHO/KTVK. rough a legislative change two years ago, potlucks were made illegal in the state if they were held outside the workplace. But state representa- tive Kelly Townsend is looking to turn the law around. "I think it was a legislative oversight. We have those all the time. We go through the statutes and they're called technical corrections, so this is kind of like a technical correction, that it wasn't intended on shutting down all potlucks." But one resi- dent at a mobile home park was upset to hear such a piece of leg- islation was even being discussed: " e fact that some politician has got to actually stop and take the time to address this? Come on, that's ridiculous." POINTED PROTEST UKRAINE — Some meetings can just go too long, judging by the actions of a female employee in Ukraine. Apparently desperate for a break, the woman undid her top and started squirting breast milk at colleagues, according to the Daily Mail. A video shows a large offi ce with people standing around talking. For a few seconds, they are oblivious to the woman's actions but then one man moves his lap- top out of the way while another tries to shield the woman's breast with his hand. e video was up- loaded to Reddit where one user claimed workers had been waiting 14 hours for a break, while another suggested the woman must have been engorged with breast milk. W EIRD ORKPLACE THE Vol. 29 No. 4 – March 7, 2016 PUBLISHED BY Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. One Corporate Plaza 2075 Kennedy Rd. Toronto, ON M1T 3V4 ©Copyright 2015 by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. CANADIAN HR REPORTER is published 21 times a year. Publications Mail – Agreement # 40065782 Registration # 9496 – ISSN 0838-228X Director, Carswell Media: Karen Lorimer - (416) 649-9411 karen.lorimer@thomsonreuters.com Publisher: (on leave) John Hobel - (416) 298-5197 john.hobel@thomsonreuters.com EDITORIAL Acting Publisher/Editor in Chief: Todd Humber - (416) 298-5196 todd.humber@thomsonreuters.com Editor/Supervisor: Sarah Dobson - (416) 649-7896 sarah.dobson@thomsonreuters.com Senior Editor: Liz Bernier - (416) 649-7837 liz.bernier@thomsonreuters.com Employment Law Editor: Jeffrey R. Smith - (416) 649-7881 jeffrey.r.smith@thomsonreuters.com Labour Relations News Editor: Sabrina Nanji - (416) 649-9348 sabrina.nanji@thomsonreuters.com Labour Relations News Editor: Liz Foster - (416) 298-5129 liz.foster@thomsonreuters.com Web/IT Co-ordinator: Mina Patel - (416) 649-7879 mina.patel@thomsonreuters.com ADVERTISING Account Executive: Stephen Hill (on leave) Account Executive: Nicholas Cholodny - (647) 537-4705 Nicholas.cholodny@thomsonreuters.com Production Co-ordinator: Pamela Menezes - (416) 649-9298 pamela.menezes@thomsonreuters.com MARKETING AND CIRCULATION Marketing & Audience Development Manager: Robert Symes - (416) 649-9551 rob.symes@thomsonreuters.com Marketing Co-ordinator: Keith Fulford - (416) 649-9585 keith.fulford@thomsonreuters.com PRODUCTION Manager, Media Production: Lisa Drummond - (416) 649-9415 lisa.drummond@thomsonreuters.com Art Director: Dave Escuadro SUBSCRIPTIONS Annual subscription: $169 (plus GST) GST#: 897 176 350 RT To subscribe, call one of the customer service numbers listed above or visit www.hrreporter.com. Address changes and returns: Send changes and undeliverable Canadian addresses to: SUBSCRIBER SERVICES Canadian HR Reporter One Corporate Plaza 2075 Kennedy Rd. Toronto, ON M1T 3V4 CUSTOMER SERVICE Call: (416) 609-3800 (Toronto) (800) 387-5164 (outside Toronto) Fax: (416) 298-5082 (Toronto) (877) 750-9041 (outside Toronto) Email: carswell.customerrelations@ thomsonreuters.com LETTERS TO THE EDITOR todd.humber@thomsonreuters.com CHRR reserves the right to edit for length and clarity. Todd Humber EDiTOR'S NOTeS HOAX ON A HILL SUNDERLAND, U.K. — A man claiming dis- ability living allowance (DLA) in the United Kingdom found himself in hot water recently when it was discovered he had been volun- teering for three years at a historic peak that was 136 metres high. Graham Maughan, 48, claimed he was so disabled, he could barely walk, but was caught working at the Penshaw Monument, accessible by a steep climb involving 78 steps, according to the Daily Mail. Maughan earned more than £8,000 (C$16,000) for the three years but his cover was blown after an anonymous tip to the National Benefi t Fraud hotline. He had been receiving the benefi t since 1993 after a serious car crash, but pled guilty to failing to declare a change in circumstances and was ordered to pay £198 (C$390). Bench chairperson Janet Hutton said they were prepared to deal with the matter via a fi ne: 'We have noted that it is over 30 years since you have committed an off ence and given your clean history and your original qualifi cation for benefi ts, we are prepared to deal with this off ence by means of a fi ne.' Credit: Dave Head (Shutterstock) DNA an acronym HR doesn't need to know There may be benefi ts but there are also pitfalls to genetic testing F ourteen years ago — and there's a phrase that makes one feel old — I wrote an article for Canadian HR Re- porter on genetic testing in the workplace. It was so long ago that I threw a reference to O.J. Simpson in the lead — after all, for many, that seminal murder trial was the fi rst time DNA ap- peared in the day-to-day lexicon. e dilemma in 2002 was that since science had fi nished map- ping the human genome and had a blueprint of human DNA, the groundwork had been laid for changes to the way diseases are detected and treated. at opened the door to the possibility of em- ployers and insurance companies testing employees — or even job applicants — to see if they were at a higher risk for certain diseases. That could have opened the door to the possibility an employ- er would refuse to hire a worker, or perhaps even package a worker out, if she had the genes for a dis- ease that could eventually turn into a long-term disability leave and enormous benefi t costs. It also opened the door to the development of new, eff ective and expensive medications that could be tailored to individuals. In 2002, the science was called "sloppy" by Chris MacDonald, assistant professor of philoso- phy at Saint Mary's University in Halifax. Now it's 2016 and one of this issue's cover stories is taking a look at the issue again, thanks to legislation that has been kicking around the House of Commons in Ottawa in various forms since 2013. Based on what Liz Foster un- covered in her story, I'd still call the entire genetic testing scene sloppy. Sure, the science has im- proved. But the human under- standing hasn't really — and that means questions abound about whether and how genetic testing should be used by employers. Putting the costs of testing aside for now, the benefi ts are kind of intriguing — if HR was able to un- cover information it had an em- ployee base that was more at risk for certain diseases, it could tailor its health and wellness programs. But there are so many pitfalls — both ethical and legal — that I'd guess most employers wouldn't want this information at their fi n- gertips. Bev Heim-Myers, chair of the Canadian Coalition for Ge- netic Fairness (CCFG), summed it up thusly: "An employer could see that a person has a predisposition to Alzheimer's disease or Parkin- son's disease and think, 'Gee, I don't want to employ this person because in the future they're go- ing to be a drain on my benefi ts package.'" Employment lawyers would have a fi eld day with that case — even though Canada is, surpris- ingly, the only G7 country without protections in place for genetic in- formation. at will undoubtedly change soon. At this point, it's still probably best to leave genetic testing in the hands of professionals — the medical community can use the testing to identify risks and treat patients while the pharmaceutical community can use it to develop powerful medications. ere are too many ethical pit- falls and privacy concerns for the benefi ts to outweigh the draw- backs in the workplace. Still time to vote for your favourite supplier Who is your favourite HR sup- plier? We want to know. Canadian HR Reporter is proud to unveil its inaugural Readers' Choice Awards for 2016. We're asking our tens of thousands of loyal readers from across the country to cast ballots and choose their favourite vendors in 14 cat- egories and 63 subcategories. In June, we will announce the winners in a special section in our print and digital editions. It's a great opportunity to vote for the partners that help your orga- nization succeed and to fi nd out what fi rms across Canada have made good impressions on your colleagues. Voting closes on March 11 – so please take some time to complete our survey at www.hrreporter. com/readerschoice2016. As a spe- cial thanks for taking time to com- plete the survey, we're giving away one eReader in a special draw. e survey takes about 10 min- utes to complete. Cast your vote today. but was caught working at the Penshaw Monument, accessible by a steep climb involving 78 steps, according to the Daily Mail. Maughan earned Sure, the science has improved, but the human understanding hasn't — and that means questions abound.

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