Addiction At The Workplace: When Should "Denial" Be A Consideration In Accommodation Strategies?

The appellant's approach amounts to a suggestion that even an employee in a highly safety sensitive position who knows precisely what he is doing can unilaterally and in a secretive manner disregard the profound safety obligations of his employment not only to the employer but to his co-workers. The absolution for doing so is said to arise from error or misconception on the part of that employee – namely denial. In our view, legitimizing such a subjective manner of defining one's safety-related employment duties in hazardous work environments loses touch with the test in Meiorin, and with the objectives of anti-discrimination laws.(Emphasis added)

The Alberta Court of Appeal recently released a decision on addiction.  The decision, Stewart v. Elk Valley Coal Corporation, 2015 ABCA 225 (CanLII) is a must read for those dealing with addiction in the workplace.