Court examines whether refusing the employer's test constitutes misconduct, barring benefits
The Federal Court of Appeal recently dealt with an appeal by a worker who was denied employment insurance benefits after losing his job. The worker refused to submit to a drug test requested by his employer.
The employer's drug policy stated that an employee's refusal to submit to a drug test was considered a violation of the policy and cause for immediate termination. The worker was dismissed following his refusal.
The worker applied for employment insurance benefits after his dismissal. However, the Social Security Tribunal denied him benefits on the basis that he had lost his job for misconduct. The worker did not dispute that the employer requested the drug test or that he refused.
He also did not dispute the content of the drug policy. Instead, he argued that the request did not comply with the policy in certain respects, and therefore, he was justified in refusing.
The case raised questions about what constitutes misconduct for employment insurance purposes and whether a worker's reasons for refusing an employer's request are relevant to that determination.
The Social Security Tribunal's General Division examined whether the worker's dismissal was for misconduct as contemplated in employment insurance legislation.
The General Division noted that the concept of misconduct does not require that the employee do anything wrong. Instead, it...
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