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ARTICLE · 12 DECEMBER 2012

Job Candidates Cannot Lie Even When Asked a Discriminatory Question

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Can an employer dismiss an employee who lied in a pre-employment medical questionnaire about not having a psychiatric medical history?

CanadaEmployment and HR
Marc Ouellet
Marc Ouellet
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The HR Space is edited by Louise Béchamp, Karen M. Sargeant and Brian P. Smeenk

Can an employer dismiss an employee who lied in a pre-employment medical questionnaire about not having a psychiatric medical history? Yes, provided that the questions the employer asked, though discriminatory in appearance, are directly related to the job the employee was applying for. This is what the Court of Appeal of Québec recently confirmed in  Syndicat des infirmières, inhalothérapeutes, infirmières auxiliaires du Coeur du Québec v. Centre hospitalier regional de Trois-Rivières (PDF - available in French only).

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In February 2005, an employee applied for a nursing position at the Trois-Rivières regional hospital centre. At the time, he was asked to fill out a pre-employment medical questionnaire in which he confirmed having no psychiatric medical history. He was subsequently hired in March 2005. In October 2006, the employee went off on medical leave. Eventually,

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