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Employer discovers that the duty to accommodate an employee's addiction doesn't end with the first relapse
BACKGROUND
EMPLOYERS ARE required to accommodate employee disabilities such as drug addictions to the point of undue hardship. But when is undue hardship reached? To one Ontario employer's surprise, not after the first relapse.
An Ontario employer that supported an employee who came forward with a drug addiction did not live up to its duty to accommodate when it dismissed him after one relapse, an arbitrator has ruled.
Taylor Letwin was hired as a seasonal labourer in the Niagara region of Ontario by Toronto-based natural gas company Enbridge Gas Distribution in May 2010. About one year later, the company made him a fulltime labourer. His job duties included operating a directional drill and hand tools to dig, set up traffic controls, helping equipment operators, and manning a fire extinguisher during installation and repairs.
While he worked, Letwin was expected to learn the tasks and work under the direction of gas technicians, as well as familiarize himself with safety procedures and Enbridge processes. It was common practice for labourers who did well to attend Enbridge's training program and become gas technicians themselves.
Letwin had a history of substance abuse beginning when he was 13 and involving cocaine, marijuana, speed, and crystal meth. He had attended a treatment program on two occasions, achieved sobriety in 1999 and remained sober for 12 years until he began using cocaine and marijuana in late 2011 when he started a relationship with a woman who was a drug user. During his sober period, he attended Narcotics Anonymous meetings but didn't follow the principles of the 12-step program or avoid temptation.
There were no issues with Letwin's job performance nor did he have any discipline over his first two years with Enbridge. On May 9, 2012, he drove in his own vehicle from the Niagara region to Toronto. At the time, he was using cocaine and continued to use it during the trip. Though he hadn't intended to go to Enbridge's head office, he ended up there and called his supervisor to say he was "messed up" and needed help. His supervisor contacted Enbridge's manager of operations for Niagara, who was at the head office...