CMAW, Local 506 Marine and Shipbuilders v. Vancouver Shipyards Co. Ltd (“P.Q.” Grievance), 2021 CanLII 138047

The Union grieved the imposition of a 10-day suspension for refusing a drug and alcohol test and the requirement to attend an IME.

The arbitrator held that in the circumstances, including the Employer’s automatic imposition of a 10-day suspension in every case of a positive test or refusal to test, a 6-day suspension was appropriate. On the IME issue, the Arbitrator emphasized that such exams are “extremely invasive” and before initiating one, an employer must inquire into less intrusive methods of obtaining information, and must only seek information that is reasonably necessary, which it had not done here. The Grievor was awarded $5000 in privacy damages.

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Vancouver Drydock Company Ltd. and Marine Workers & Boilermakers Industrial Union, Local 1 (GC Grievance), 2021 CanLII 150912

In this decision, the Union successfully argued that automatic exclusion of employees on methadone from a safety-sensitive workplace is discriminatory. The Employer refused to allow the Grievor to work because he was undergoing methadone maintenance therapy for opioid addiction. Richard L Edgar and Janna Crown represented the Union and argued that an individualized assessment of the Grievor’s abilities was required. The arbitrator agreed with the Union and struck down the Employer’s blanket rule of not allowing employees to work while undergoing methadone maintenance therapy. Expert evidence adduced at the hearing established that at least some individuals are able to work in safety-sensitive environments while undergoing methadone maintenance therapy, and there was evidence that the Grievor had safely worked for another employer in a similar safety-sensitive environment while undergoing methadone maintenance therapy. 

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