Employment Law
Interview Summary
Toronto school boards have issued a reminder to educators that sick leave should only be used when genuinely ill, cautioning that misuse could lead to surveillance and potential termination of employment. Over the past year, several teachers have been dismissed after surveillance footage revealed they were not unwell but instead living in another province or spending time at a casino.
Lior Samfiru, an Ontario employment lawyer and Co-founding Partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP joined 640 Toronto’s Davelle Morrison to discuss the rights of employees on medical leave.
Interview Notes
- Hiring private investigators: Samfiru noted that the practice of surveilling those on medical leave is not new. “Insurance companies, the ones that cover disability leaves, have been doing this for years. The idea is to weed out individuals who are not disabled and trying to get paid when they shouldn’t be.” Samfiru went on to explain that employers who feel there is a systematic problem are within their rights to employ surveillance but it has limited advantages.
- Disadvantages to surveillance: “An investigator could be helpful to try and weed out those in situations who said they are unable to work for a long time and are working elsewhere,” said Samfiru. “For those sick for a couple of days, an investigation is unlikely to be helpful. Employers should be careful of what weight they give to surveillance results.”
- Booking days off for appointments: Samfiru...
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