Case Study - Accommodating a Disability John was hired on January 15, 1997. He has been working the night shift throughout the past 10 years. John has had a troubled history with the organization. The employee has been disciplined on a few occasions (mostly for insubordinate behaviour and inappropriate comments to co-workers) and has in turn filed a number of grievances against the supervisor and various co-workers. Some grievances have been settled quietly and others have been dismissed once the union and management have reviewed and discussed. Given the various grievances that John has filed against co-workers, one (1) particular coworker (Mac) filed a harassment complaint against John in 2004 citing that John continually picks on him and the behaviour is unwanted (this is all in addition to four (4) grievances filed that were all dismissed). Needless to say, John does not have any friends at work. He is a loner and does not participate in any group activity or staff events outside of work. Some workers (especially new hires) have tried to befriend him, with no luck. The supervisor (Brent) believes that John may have an undisclosed mental health problem. Upon returning from the Christmas holidays this year, John approached his supervisor and says that his doctor has advised him to take eight ( 8 ) of paid sick leave to recover from "stress and burnout". The employee hands his supervisor a doctor's note to confirm this advice, and explains that he needs to be away from work starting right away. Brent notes to himself that John has made no secret that he would prefer to transfer from his current night shift to a day shift or to a different location, but he doesn't have the seniority to successfully apply for any of these positions. With this new request for leave, Brent is concerned that John and the doctor randomly requested a lengthy absence. Nonetheless, since John presented a valid doctor's note, the supervisor grants the employee's request. Brent schedules the start and end dates of the sick leave in the employee database. Three days before he is supposed to return to work, John delivers another doctor's note saying it's his recommendation that John be transferred to the day shift immediately. Brent is frustrated and approaches you - a consultant with MCHR Consulting (an external company that is often engaged to assist with difficult cases). He recounts John's history and asks you to advise him on what his next steps are. He also asks as a further option, what can be done about terminating John for good?.

1. Case Study - Accommodating a Disability John was hired on January 15, 1997. He has been
working the night shift throughout the past 10 years. John has had a troubled history with the
organization. The employee has been disciplined on a few occasions (mostly for insubordinate
behaviour and inappropriate comments to co-workers) and has in turn filed a number of
grievances against the supervisor and various co-workers. Some grievances have been settled
quietly and others have been dismissed once the union and management have reviewed and
discussed. Given the various grievances that John has filed against co-workers, one (1) particular
coworker (Mac) filed a harassment complaint against John in 2004 citing that John continually
picks on him and the behaviour is unwanted (this is all in addition to four (4) grievances filed
that were all dismissed). Needless to say, John does not have any friends at work. He is a loner
and does not participate in any group activity or staff events outside of work. Some workers
(especially new hires) have tried to befriend him, with no luck. The supervisor (Brent) believes
that John may have an undisclosed mental health problem. Upon returning from the Christmas
holidays this year, John approached his supervisor and says that his doctor has advised him to
take eight ( 8 ) of paid sick leave to recover from "stress and burnout". The employee hands his
supervisor a doctor's note to confirm this advice, and explains that he needs to be away from
work starting right away. Brent notes to himself that John has made no secret that he would
prefer to transfer from his current night shift to a day shift or to a different location, but he
doesn't have the seniority to successfully apply for any of these positions. With this new request
for leave, Brent is concerned that John and the doctor randomly requested a lengthy absence.
Nonetheless, since John presented a valid doctor's note, the supervisor grants the employee's
request. Brent schedules the start and end dates of the sick leave in the employee database. Three
days before he is supposed to return to work, John delivers another doctor's note saying it's his
recommendation that John be transferred to the day shift immediately. Brent is frustrated and
approaches you - a consultant with MCHR Consulting (an external company that is often
engaged to assist with difficult cases). He recounts John's history and asks you to advise him on
what his next steps are. He also asks as a further option, what can be done about terminating
John for good?