Category: Ask Your Local

Q. Please explain what the “Right To Work” legislation means?

Q: My manager never offers me any praise for the good work I do and he takes credit for everything. Nothing is ever quite right and he makes minor tweaks and then criticizes me because he had to make “major” changes in order to get a credible product. The constant criticism is wearing me down and I feel as though I can’t face it lot of days so I take a sick day – which also gets me criticized. I’m feeling depressed all the time and its even affecting my family because I’m a mess most evenings and Sunday nights I can’t sleep. I’m at the end of my rope. Can someone help me?

Q – I had surgery twice in recent months and require a 3rd surgery. Management advanced sick leave in the past and it has been repaid but they are somewhat reluctant to advance the 5 weeks that I need this time. Are they required to do so?

Q: I read that there is a policy called foreign-worker policy that was created by the federal government and that employs as many as 300,000 temporary foreign workers in Canadian jobs at lower pay than normally given and without benefits or hope of permanent residency or access to Canada’s labour laws. Is that true? Is it legally allowed and are foreign workers being abused and Canadian jobs being lost?

Question: My manager recently advised me that they want me to start working a 9:00 to 5:00 shift. For the past year I have been working from 8:00 to 4:00. Working these hours allows me just enough time to be able to pick up my child from the day care before it closes at 4:30. I told my manager that the new work schedule is not possible for me given my family situation, but they are insisting. My question is whether I have the right to refuse and what my rights are.

Question: My manager recently advised me that they want me to start working a 9:00 to 5:00 shift.  For the past year I have been working from 8:00 to 4:00.  Working these hours allows me just enough time to be able to pick up my child from the day care before it closes at 4:30. I told my manager that the new work schedule is not possible for me given my family situation, but they are insisting. My question is whether I have the right to refuse and what my rights are.

Question: A few years ago, my doctor diagnosed me with a medical illness that the insurance company would not approve. That decision was appealed twice and, finally, a last appeal confirmed the Industrial Alliance decision to deny benefits. During the process, a new medical claim was filed and denied. The complication is that during the ensuing period of time, my diagnosis changed, but the insurance company refused to allow the original diagnosis to change on the original claim. My employer has been fair and I have returned to work at various times with accommodations, but the illness is wearing me down and I know that there is no way I can continue to work. I am upset that the insurance company refused to allow the original claim to be altered and that I lost the financial support from my policy for the past 3 years. I don’t know what to do next.

Answer: The appeal process for claims filed with the Industrial Alliance is different than with Sun Life. The major difference is that clients of the Industrial Alliance are represented by the Treasury Board of Canada during the appeal process. Once the final appeal is denied, there is little (if anything) that can be done to change the decision. In order to submit a new medical claim and have the likelihood of it being approved, the following criteria (at a minimum) must be met:

• The employee must return to work on a full-time basis for at least 30 consecutive days and then submit a new claim with new medical information;

• The qualifying period of 90 days or 13 week would apply again before any Long Term Disability (LTD) benefits would be paid if approved.

• The past must be the past and, in my opinion, the years of lost financial compensation cannot be regained. The claim that was re-submitted and denied while the first claim was under review or appeal, probably did not meet the criteria as indicated above.

For specific case information, you would be well advised to consult with a Human Resources advisor.

Question: I joined the Public Service in December 2010 and had a pre-existing medical condition. For the 1st three months of my employment, the health issues were not a problem. However, they have recurred recently and I may need to go on medical leave. Will my Sun Life disability policy cover me?

Answer: Pre-existing condition

During the first year of your coverage under the Disability Insurance plan you may experience a worsening of a condition that already existed at the time that you were hired. If this pre-existing condition results in total disability, you will only get Disability (DI) Benefits if:

• You had a consecutive 13 week period when you did not need medical attention for that condition.

AND

• You were not absent from work for more than two full days.

Unless you meet both conditions, your claim will not be paid. However, this restriction no longer applies after your first full year of employment. It does not apply to any other disabling condition that is unrelated to your pre-existing condition.

Question – I have been on sick leave without pay for a year and a half. My employer advised me that my substantive position is being filled with an indeterminate employee and, if and when I return to work, I will be on a priority list. The manager said something about the possibility of “termination for medical incapacity”. Can you explain what that is and how it occurs?

Answer – Termination for medical incapacity may occur under the following conditions: the employee has exhausted their paid sick leave credits; and the employee has been unable to work for an extended period; and the employee is unable to return to work within the foreseeable future (as determined by medical assessment).

An employee who is being terminated for medical incapacity should be offered a medical retirement (depending on the length of time that the employee has been on sick leave and the likelihood of a partial or full recovery). Health Canada (at this time) is the only medical opinion that can approve a medical retirement.