Many employers will avoid laying off an employee if they’re on medical leave – even if the dismissal is unrelated to the disability.
But that may be an overly cautious approach, judging by a recent case out of B.C. where the employer was vindicated in its termination of an injured worker.
The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal really had to choose between two narratives — that of the employer, which did make some mistakes, and that of the employee, who exaggerated her allegations, according to Dante Manna, a partner at Stewart McKelvey in Halifax.