A federal union is applauding a decision by the federal labour board ordering a department to allow an employee with PTSD to work remotely, saying it shows a “one-size-fits-all” approach to the return-to-office mandate doesn’t make sense. In a decision released in June, the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board said Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada (ISED) “acted recklessly in failing to properly accommodate” an employee by denying his request for telework instead of being required to attend the office in Ottawa. The employee requested accommodation to telework on a permanent basis as the federal government introduced the return-to-office mandate in 2023, based on his medical condition. The report says the employee suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and his symptoms include pervasive feelings of unsafety and hypervigilance. The employee works for the Communications Research Centre (CRC) on Carling Avenue and moved to hybrid work at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. He decided to move back to his hometown to help care for his autistic brother. According to the labour board report, when the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat introduced a directive for employees to return to the office two or three days a week, starting in March 2023, the employee asked his manager for additional time to move back to Ottawa. The report says he was granted until Oct. 1, 2023, before being required to move to the office. The employee submitted a written request for accommodation for teleworking in September 2023, saying he needed to care for his autistic brother. The report says that request was denied. The employee also requested accommodation based on a medical condition, saying the return-to-office mandate would “contribute negatively to my symptoms and cause stress, which aggravated them.” He also submitted a doctor’s note from his family physician that recommended he work from home for at least four months. Staff at Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada granted the request for temporary telework until Feb. 22, 2024, and it was extended until May 1. The report says the employee went on sick leave after that and has remained on unpaid sick leave since then. ISED asked the employee to provide a “functional abilities form,” which was completed by a psychiatrist. Therapist and psychiatrist sent letters The federal government’s “Workplace Accommodation Centre” denied the full-time teleworking accommodation measure, saying, “it seems that the situation can be accommodated differently.” The internal committee recommended the manager purchase a noise-cancelling headset, provide a cubicle away from other employees and managers and the employee “agree on attending the office on less busy days when possible.” The employee’s therapist and psychiatrist both sent ISED a letter in April 2024 outlining the diagnosis, with the psychiatrist saying “I would highly recommend that he works remotely. Any exposure in the office may cause him to relapse.” The psychiatrist also recommended “no change in his working conditions be done as it might cause a relapse.” In his ruling, Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board member Christopher Rootham said ISED “did not reasonably accommodate the employee.” Rootham said he was “confused” about why the department proposed noise-cancelling headphones for the employee and ruled the use of headphones and a cubicle away from other employees “do not reasonably accommodate” his disability. “Since the employer has not alleged that it would suffer undue hardship if it were to accommodate the grievor with telework, and it has not proposed any other alternatives to telework that would accommodate his disability, I must allow the grievance,” Rootham wrote. The labour board granted damages of $18,000 for pain and suffering and $10,000 for the “employer’s reckless conduct” under the Canadian Human Rights Act. The employee will also receive the value of his base salary from when he went on medical leave in May 2024. Union applauds board The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada says the decision “reinforces” what the union has been saying since the return-to-office mandates were first announced. “A ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to RTO doesn’t work and doesn’t make sense,” the union said. “The policy has resulted in overcrowded workspaces, creating conditions that can compromise employees’ health, safety, and ability to work effectively. The ISED case clearly demonstrates that the government is being careless in their implementation and failing to properly accommodate employees with documented medical conditions.” The union says the labour board ruling, “Made it clear that an employer cannot force an employee’s disability-related needs to fit a blanket workplace policy.”
