04-16-2008, 03:29 AM
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McDonald’s fails to accommodate employee unable to wash hands
You read the headline correctly... 
McDonald’s fails to accommodate employee unable to wash hands
Quote:
In Canada, human rights legislation provides that employers have a duty to accommodate disabled workers unless such accommodation would cause “undue hardship” on the employer.
A recent case involving McDonald’s Restaurants before the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal illustrates the high standard of accommodation expected of employers. It also shows the kinds of proactive measures employers may have to take before accommodation is considered “undue hardship.”
In the case, the tribunal found that McDonald’s improperly terminated the employment of a long-time employee. McDonald’s didn’t do enough to accommodate the employee who developed a skin condition that prevented her from working and meeting the restaurant’s hand-washing policy.
Facts
Beena Datt started working at McDonald’s within three months of moving to Canada in 1981. After working at the same restaurant for 20 years, she developed a skin condition. As a result, over the next three years, she was unable to work for long periods of time. She was on disability benefits and unsuccessfully attempted to return to work three separate times. She tried various treatments as well as working with gloves, but nothing helped. She was always eager to return to work.
Ms. Datt’s doctor eventually stated that she couldn’t work in a restaurant. McDonald’s then terminated her employment.
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Buckle yourself into your chair, because you might fall off on this one... 
Quote:
Decision
The tribunal didn’t accept McDonald’s’ arguments and found that the company had breached its duty to accommodate Ms. Datt’s disability.
Since Ms. Datt no longer wanted to work for McDonald’s, the tribunal didn’t order reinstatement. But she was awarded damages of $55,000. The damages included lost wages and profit sharing, extra compensation for the tax effect of a lump-sum payment, reimbursement of some expenses, and $25,000 for injury to “dignity, feelings, and self-respect.” Also, the tribunal noted that, if she had provided expert evidence about her employability and earnings potential, she could have been awarded an amount for future wage loss as well.
The tribunal’s decision was based on several key findings:
While the doctor had said she couldn’t work in a restaurant, he had never been provided with job descriptions or summaries of job duties for the different jobs in the restaurant.
McDonald’s relied on its disability insurance provider’s assessment, but the insurer had never been fully informed of the jobs at McDonald’s.
There was no true functional assessment of Ms. Datt’s capacity to meet job requirements.
The doctor said that Ms. Datt couldn’t tolerate “frequent” hand-washing and that she was to have “minimal detergent and water contact,” but McDonald’s didn’t inquire about how often she could wash her hands or what level of detergent and water contact was acceptable.
There was no real attempt to see if any alternative work or modified duties were available for Ms. Datt and no direct contact by McDonald’s to discuss returning to work. For example, McDonald’s didn’t explore the possibility of finding appropriately fitted gloves (e.g., “salad preparation gloves”) that Ms. Datt may have been able to use without aggravating her condition.
There was no evidence of:
the relationship between food contamination and hand-washing;
the risk to the public if Ms. Datt’s hand-washing was limited;
and other employees being adversely affected by Ms. Datt’s limitations.
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My two questions to the judge would be 1)"Should McDonald's forward all forthcoming lawsuits for customer sickness directy to you or through your secretary if this occurs again?...And 2) When can we sue YOU for lost profit now that everyone knows McDonald's must accomodate people who can't wash their hands?...
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"You get the respect that you give" - cnredd
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