‘Such a request appears to me to be a fishing expedition’
In dealing with the issue of substance abuse among workers, employers cannot simply conduct a “fishing expedition,” according to an Alberta arbitrator.
In an Oct. 29 hearing, Adam Latourneau denied Graymont Western Canada Inc.’s request for the pre-hearing release of an employee’s medical records and raw assessment notes in a substance abuse-related dismissal grievance.
The case arose after Graymont (Exshaw Plant) terminated Cameron Schrobbach, a member of the Alberta Regional Council of Carpenters and Allied Workers, Local Union No. 2010, for alleged dishonesty and breach of trust. The employer later added a post-dismissal allegation related to a breach of company policy on drug use.
Ahead of the arbitration hearing, the employer sought an order compelling the union or grievor to release five years of medical records or, in the alternative, the raw notes from two Substance Abuse Evaluations (SAEs) and any related third-party notes. The employer argued these records were necessary to determine “whether there was tampering by any individual and/or the Grievor in the SAE process or related to subsequent modifications to the SAE reports,” explained Letourneau.
The union strongly opposed the request, characterizing it as a “fishing expedition” and arguing that it would cause undue prejudice and breach the grievor’s privacy. The union further noted that the employer had not accessed such records at the time of...
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