Groupe Robert forced to reinstate truck driver fired for drinking and driving ...

Michael Ludwig

Michael Ludwig

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Jul 6, 2009
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Groupe Robert forced to reinstate truck driver fired for drinking and driving - Truck News

A Quebec trucking company has been ordered to reinstate a driver who was fired after she drank at least nine beers before she lost control of
www.trucknews.com www.trucknews.com

Sure raises a lot of questions for the industry doesn't it?
Do we have to ask all of our drivers if they suffer from alcoholism, and document their responses?
Can you ask that in your application and interview process?
Isn't that personal medical information that you can't ask about?
How often do we have to ask them?
What if they say yes?
What if they say no?
I can see this becoming an industrial sized mine field of epic proportions.

I get it that alcoholism is a serious problem for those that suffer from it, and I do not mean to belittle this issue, but is it a disability? It can certainly be classified as an addiction. I smoke. That's an addiction. But, is it a disability? I would like to quit. I have tried, and failed, too many times to count. Does that make smoking a disability?

Here's one to wrap your mind around ... If you get stopped and arrested for impaired driving, can you claim the disability to clear yourself of the charges? I am 99.9% sure there is law or precedent somewhere that says you can't imprison someone for a disability ... charter of rights maybe?

What are insurance companies going to think of this?

This will take years for Robert to get this through the court levels to get a definitive answer. In the meantime, industry has to attempt to protect itself. How are we going to do that?

I'm sure you are all aware of "Oh Shit" moments ... this is definitely one of them, and it's a big one !!!
 
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The world has gone mad. Common sense has slipped beyond our grasp. How on earth is Robert supposed to insure this driver, now that she has this conviction? If they put her behind the wheel and like Freight Broker says, goes on to reoffend or worse, kill someone, then who is accountable? Of course Robert is.
 
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JACKBURTON said:
Saw a video the other day of a girl complaining because the company she applied to/worked at? wouldn't accommodate her "time blindness".
Click to expand...
Honestly, I thought you were bullshitting with that one ... until I Googled it !!!
That brings me to one plain and simple conclusion ... as a species, we're fucked !!! ... LOL
 
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In spite of how ridiculous and out of touch with reality the outcome of this particular case may appear, remember it is only the decision of one labour board arbitrator in Quebec. It is subject to appeal and is not binding on any other cases that may come before this or any other labour board. It is merely one adjudicators interpretation of the law. Other similar type cases that took place in different industries had different outcomes that favoured the employer. No question, it is a head scratcher and head shaker, however personally, I am not ready to throw in the towel on humanity just yet!
 
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loaders said:
In spite of how ridiculous and out of touch with reality the outcome of this particular case may appear, remember it is only the decision of one labour board arbitrator in Quebec. It is subject to appeal and is not binding on any other cases that may come before this or any other labour board. It is merely one adjudicators interpretation of the law. Other similar type cases that took place in different industries had different outcomes that favoured the employer. No question, it is a head scratcher and head shaker, however personally, I am not ready to throw in the towel on humanity just yet!
Click to expand...
Well, at least the lawyers win.
 
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loaders said:
In spite of how ridiculous and out of touch with reality the outcome of this particular case may appear, remember it is only the decision of one labour board arbitrator in Quebec. It is subject to appeal and is not binding on any other cases that may come before this or any other labour board. It is merely one adjudicators interpretation of the law. Other similar type cases that took place in different industries had different outcomes that favoured the employer. No question, it is a head scratcher and head shaker, however personally, I am not ready to throw in the towel on humanity just yet!
Click to expand...
That's the way it is now, but you can bet your bottom dollar this is going to go through the court system, all the way up to the Supreme Court of Canada, and don't think for a minute that other countries are not watching this. This is going to have global repercussions by the time it's done.

(Time Blindness !!! ... I still can't wrap my mind around that one ... brought to you by the kind folks at "here's your medal just for showing up")
 
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I'm sure I am going to get a lot of flack for this but in a way had this been a "Driver Inc" driver termination would be a non-issue. Also again for the sake of catching flack...we are a bit fortunate our drivers are practicing Muslims, haven't had to worry about the drinking issue. We don't haul alcohol either so its a win-win.
 
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Melroy75 said:
I'm sure I am going to get a lot of flack for this but in a way had this been a "Driver Inc" driver termination would be a non-issue. Also again for the sake of catching flack...we are a bit fortunate our drivers are practicing Muslims, haven't had to worry about the drinking issue. We don't haul alcohol either so its a win-win.
Click to expand...
certainnly helps -
 
JACKBURTON said:
Saw a video the other day of a girl complaining because the company she applied to/worked at? wouldn't accommodate her "time blindness".
Click to expand...
I saw the young woman's Tik Tok and she was very upset with the lack of accommodation for time blindness and the interviewers attitude. I had to look this up as I had never heard of it and as a grumpy old man I was amused and horrified.

"time blindness is not categorized an as official diagnosis, but rather a general way of thinking and a common symptom of conditions such as ADHD."

For anyone in operations we can't accommodate this and need to be at our desks at a certain time to deal with issues as they happen plus many of us are taking calls and following up outside of normal business hours.

Not all jobs are like this and many companies have core hours that employees have to be working, i.e. 9 AM to 1 PM but otherwise can set their hours as long as they get their work done.

Other companies operate on the principle of asynchronous work -- "allow their employees to complete tasks and answer colleagues when it's convenient for them and within a reasonable timeframe"

The workforce has changed and we have multi generations working together, all with different attitudes and work ethic, if your company wants to attract and keep Gen Z you will have to find a way to structure the work to meet their expectations but maybe not time blindness
 
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