An Ontario nursing home must rehire a registered nurse who was caught stealing opioids on the job — and compensate her for her losses, according to an arbitrator’s ruling.
The nurse, a supervisor identified only as “D.S.” was fired by the Sunnyside Home in September 2016 after she was discovered to have repeatedly stolen narcotics from the long-term care facility and falsified records. She claimed she had injected residents with the drugs when, in fact, she had used them on herself.
An arbitrator ruled in mid-January that the woman’s opioid addiction was a disability, and that she must be rehired and paid for “injury to dignity, feelings and self-respect.”
“The evidence shows beyond any doubt that there is a connection or nexus between [her] substance use disorder and the adverse effect of termination of employment for violation of admittedly valid workplace rules,” arbitrator Larry Steinberg wrote.
After her firing, D.S. received treatment for her addiction, and her union, the Ontario Nurses Association, subsequently argued that she deserved a second chance. Steinberg agreed, with the amount of compensation to be determined at a later date, according to a local report.
D.S. “repeatedly” stole opioids, including hydromorphone and morphine, from the Kitchener, Ontario, nursing home during a two-year period ending in August 2016. She was put on paid leave at the end of that month and checked herself in for withdrawal treatment, while also admitting to the thefts.
She was fired a month later, but asked for her job back after meeting certain conditions set by the College of Nurses of Ontario, and completing a 35-day, inpatient treatment program. When Sunnyside Home refused, the nurse, now 50 years old, appealed.
From the February 01, 2019 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
