A man was hired on at a car manufacturer to work at the plant. He successfully went through a lengthy application process. The last stage was to get medical clearance, and the manufacturer had this done by an independent medical clinic. At the medical, he disclosed that he was in a methadone program to treat an addiction to painkillers. The clinic failed him on his physical and told the manufacturer he could not be in a safety sensitive position for undisclosed reasons.
The Centre negotiated a settlement that included:
- Financial compensation for the right to be free from discrimination;
- He was to be hired to start the next month (without going through whole qualifying process again);
- In the future he does not have to deal with the manufacturer’s clinic and he can provide medicals from his own doctors;
- If issues arise, the manufacturer’s in-house health & safety department will work with him and his doctors to implement appropriate accommodations;
- Seniority/length of service to be based on the original offer to hire.