A Canada Revenue Agency employee who forged signatures on 16 sick notes was fired for cause, a federal adjudicator has decided.
The employee had a problem with absenteeism and started missing work without calling in. The employer reminded her of the sick leave policy including the requirement that she provide medical notes. The letter said that failure to comply could lead to discipline or termination.
Over the next ten months, the employee forged signatures on 16 medical notes. When confronted, the employee said that her illness was alcoholism and she had been too drunk to go to a doctor when she called in sick. The employee was unapologetic and attempted to deflect blame onto her manager for requiring her to produce medical notes, and said “You would not want me to drive drunk”. She said she had numerous personal issues including her brother’s death and her mother’s declining health.
The employer said that the falsified sick notes had resulted in the employee getting 216 hours of paid leave and 218.5 hours of unpaid leave. The paid leave was valued at approximately $9,300.00.
The adjudicator stated that there was no expert evidence that alcohol dependency caused the employee to forge the notes or removed her inhibitions to do so. As such, the employee had not shown that her dismissal was discriminatory because of disability.
The adjudicator stated that “There is no question that her actions amounted not only to misconduct but also to serious misconduct.” He held that the employee had been dishonest on a number of occasions. Further, she had tried to blame others. Although she had 25 years of service, she had not pursued rehabilitation in any meaningful way. The adjudicator therefore held that the employer had just cause to dismiss her.
McNulty v. Canada Revenue Agency, 2016 PSLREB 105 (CanLII)
