WHY DOESN'T OPSEU HIRE THIS LAWYER?????? The London Free Press - August 6/09 City's Attendance Policy Buried for 'Intimidation'By JONATHAN SHERAn arbitrator has torpedoed efforts by London city hall to reduce high worker absenteeism, voiding an attendance policy adopted last year after a public uproar. Arbitrator Wesley Raynor, a former dean of the University of Western Ontario's law faculty, has ruled the policy could be used to intimidate employees to go to work even when they're legitimately sick or hurt. "Misleading employees with the threat of termination so that they come to work when they are ill is impermissible . . . the (policy) has crossed the line from proper encouragement to intimidation," he wrote. "The use of mandatory language, the repeated references to possible termination at each step, the limited explanation of the need for discretion and the factors to be considered when it is exercised . . . create a definite tone of intimidation." City officials asked Raynor to suggest changes rather than void it entirely. He chose the latter. The changes required were too major, Raynor wrote. City hall brass circulated an internal memo about the setback the day it occurred, July 29, but no public announcement was made. The ruling leaves London without an attendance policy for at least the next six months, chief administrative officer Jeff Fielding said this week. "We'll go back to the drawing board and redraft it," he told The Free Press. "It's clearly a setback." City hall has suspended a training program for managers on how to implement the attendance program, and until a new one is adopted, employees will be expected at work. "We'll have to depend upon the good graces of our employees," Fielding said. It was 18 months ago that Coun. Paul Van Meerbergen first questioned absenteeism after city brass tried to hire an attendance manager. A subsequent review by KPMG found city hall employees missed an average 19.4 days of work last year, more than double the national average of 9.7 days for civic workers compiled by Statistics Canada. Senior management began to implement a new attendance management policy just more than a year ago, a policy aimed only at employees who miss work because of legitimate illness or injury -- those with unexcused absences are subject to discipline. Under the now-voided policy, employees who missed more than six days of work in either half of the calendar year were flagged for review. Several later complained about being singled out, Fielding said. Under the terms of the program, managers were to help those with serious illness that might be deemed a disability, such as cancer or multiple sclerosis. But others, while offered help, were to be told to find ways to miss no more than six days in subsequent, half-year periods. If not, they'd face an escalating set of six meetings, which after three or more years, could lead to termination. Fielding acknowledged he had some concerns about the policy when it was drafted because it was overly legalistic. "I wasn't totally satisfied," he said. The new policy, which will be drafted in consultation with city hall unions, will include plainer language, he said. Despite the voiding of its policy, city hall has had some improvement since revelations about high absenteeism. Absentee rates among London firefighters plummeted last year, reaching levels not seen in a decade, a drop of 18.5% compared with 2007. "Drawing attention to the issue was probably the biggest factor," Fielding said. A day after the short-lived attendance policy was officially implemented, it was challenged by inside workers at city hall who form Local 101 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees. While the arbitrator's ruling dealt directly with that challenge, city hall has suspended the use of its attendance policy against all of its employees, which include 2,200 unionized and 300 non-unionized workers. The lawyer who represented the union over the policy was not available to comment yesterday.

The London Free Press - August 6/09

City's Attendance Policy Buried for 'Intimidation'

By JONATHAN SHER

An arbitrator has torpedoed efforts by London city hall to reduce high worker absenteeism, voiding an attendance policy adopted last year after a public uproar. Arbitrator Wesley Raynor, a former dean of the University of Western Ontario's law faculty, has ruled the policy could be used to intimidate employees to go to work even when they're legitimately sick or hurt. "Misleading employees with the threat of termination so that they come to work when they are ill is impermissible . . . the (policy) has crossed the line from proper encouragement to intimidation," he wrote. "The use of mandatory language, the repeated references to possible termination at each step, the limited explanation of the need for discretion and the factors to be considered when it is exercised . . . create a definite tone of intimidation." City officials asked Raynor to suggest changes rather than void it entirely. He chose the latter. The changes required were too major, Raynor wrote. City hall brass circulated an internal memo about the setback the day it occurred, July 29, but no public announcement was made. The ruling leaves London without an attendance policy for at least the next six months, chief administrative officer Jeff Fielding said this week. "We'll go back to the drawing board and redraft it," he told The Free Press. "It's clearly a setback." City hall has suspended a training program for managers on how to implement the attendance program, and until a new one is adopted, employees will be expected at work. "We'll have to depend upon the good graces of our employees," Fielding said. It was 18 months ago that Coun. Paul Van Meerbergen first questioned absenteeism after city brass tried to hire an attendance manager. A subsequent review by KPMG found city hall employees missed an average 19.4 days of work last year, more than double the national average of 9.7 days for civic workers compiled by Statistics Canada. Senior management began to implement a new attendance management policy just more than a year ago, a policy aimed only at employees who miss work because of legitimate illness or injury -- those with unexcused absences are subject to discipline. Under the now-voided policy, employees who missed more than six days of work in either half of the calendar year were flagged for review. Several later complained about being singled out, Fielding said. Under the terms of the program, managers were to help those with serious illness that might be deemed a disability, such as cancer or multiple sclerosis. But others, while offered help, were to be told to find ways to miss no more than six days in subsequent, half-year periods. If not, they'd face an escalating set of six meetings, which after three or more years, could lead to termination. Fielding acknowledged he had some concerns about the policy when it was drafted because it was overly legalistic. "I wasn't totally satisfied," he said. The new policy, which will be drafted in consultation with city hall unions, will include plainer language, he said. Despite the voiding of its policy, city hall has had some improvement since revelations about high absenteeism. Absentee rates among London firefighters plummeted last year, reaching levels not seen in a decade, a drop of 18.5% compared with 2007. "Drawing attention to the issue was probably the biggest factor," Fielding said. A day after the short-lived attendance policy was officially implemented, it was challenged by inside workers at city hall who form Local 101 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees. While the arbitrator's ruling dealt directly with that challenge, city hall has suspended the use of its attendance policy against all of its employees, which include 2,200 unionized and 300 non-unionized workers. The lawyer who represented the union over the policy was not available to comment yesterday.