Paramedic wins key human rights case
 

Simcoe County paramedic can work despite loss of F-class license due to disability

July 13, 2007 Dave Rogers waited two years, but in the end he is once again able to practice the profession he loves, and help people in need.

Rogers, a 17-year veteran Simcoe County paramedic (Local 303) won a case at arbitration, when arbitrator Morley Gorsky ruled that the Human Rights Code could override the requirement in the Ambulance Act regulations that require a paramedic to be legally entitled to drive an ambulance. 

Rogers’s problems started when he developed a medical condition that affected his eyesight. When this worsened, he was no longer able to qualify for the F-class license, which is a condition of being able to drive an ambulance. Despite being able to perform all of the other paramedic’s other duties, he could not legally drive the ambulance. He was told by the employer in 2005 that the regulations did not permit him to practice as a paramedic because of that.

Since no paramedic ever drives to an emergency alone, and since the entire volunteer system of ambulance service delivery is not subject to the regulation in question, the union argued that Rogers's disability should be accommodated by permitting him to work in an ‘attend-only’ capacity.

Gorsky ruled in the union’s favour. He found that, under the Human Rights Code, Rogers was entitled to be accommodated as a paramedic and that the regulation in question was overridden by the employer's obligations under the Human Rights Code.

So the decision came as good news to OPSEU paramedics. While the arbitrator’s ruling did not strike down the F-class requirement, it did rule that in Rogers’s case, his right to be accommodated in his employment was paramount.

“This is a great decision for Dave Rogers,” said OPSEU Ambulance Division Chair Jamie Ramage. “Now we will bring further attention to this issue as we feel other paramedics in this situation should have the same opportunity.”