A million-dollar reminder about the duty to inquire
A recent Alberta Human Rights Tribunal decision has drawn attention for its more than $1 million damages award. While the result in Volpi v. Lifemark Health Corp is striking, the legal principles are well established.
What makes this case notable is not new law, but the exceptional combination of facts that led the Tribunal to find that an employer discriminated against a long-tenured, high-earning, high-performing employee by delaying his requested mental health leave. The employer then accepted the employee’s abrupt resignation without inquiring whether it was connected to his previously disclosed disability.
For employers, the case is best understood as a cautionary example of how existing obligations (specifically the duty to inquire) can produce serious financial exposure in certain situations.
David Volpi worked as a physiotherapist at a Calgary clinic for approximately 16 years. His supervisor described him as a “superstar.” Volpi had diagnosed mental disabilities, most notably bipolar II disorder, which he had first disclosed to his employer in 2009. He and the previous clinic director established an informal arrangement allowing Mr. Volpi to take time off when his mental health was deteriorating.
In 2015, a new clinic director took over without being told about Volpi’s mental health history, or his existing accommodation arrangement. When Volpi’s mental health deteriorated in 2016, he repeatedly asked...
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