Unreasonable Not to Let Employee Exposed to COVID-19 Work from Home

A secretary exposed to a confirmed COVID-19 case at work was denied permission to work at home while awaiting her test results due to “security reasons.” The employer also refused to pay her for the time she spent in isolation waiting to hear back from the lab. The union grieved both of these actions and the Québec arbitrator handed down a split decision. It was unreasonable not to let the secretary telecommute while in isolation given the evidence showing she was capable of doing 80% of her duties at home; however, it didn’t have to pay the secretary for her time at home since she didn’t actually do any work during that time [Syndicat des salariés municipaux de Chaudière-Appalaches v corporation municipale de St-Apollinaire, 2021 CanLII 122344 (QC SAT), November 29, 2021].