# 2017-161 Careers, Remedial Measures
Remedial Measures
Case summary
F&R Date: 2019-02-07
The grievor disagreed with a remedial measure (RM) assigned to her as a result of her inability to complete a career course. The grievor agreed that she was forced to cease training for medical reasons but denied that she had personally requested to be medically returned to her unit (RTU). The grievor also disputed the fairness of the progress review board (PRB) and the wording of her Course Report.
The Initial Authority (IA), the Commanding Officer of her home unit, denied the grievance, finding that the RM was merited, based on the Course Report. The IA also noted that the assigned RM had not yet completely addressed the concerns noted in the Course Report and determined that the RM should be elevated to the next level.
The Committee first noted, upon questioning, that the unit had assumed the PRB report and Course Report to be accurate, and had acted upon them without any question, and without considering the grievor's version of events. The Committee then examined the sequence of events between the grievor, the local Canadian Armed Forces Health Services Clinic (the Clinic) and the school.
The Committee found that the grievor had serious medical issues precluding her continuation on the course, and that a Clinic staff member had erroneously advised the school that the grievor had personally requested a medical RTU contrary to school policy. The Committee found that the Clinic staff member had wrongly divulged private medical information to the school and had mischaracterized the grievor to school authorities, setting in motion all that followed. The Committee concluded that those mischaracterizations were not reliable evidence upon which to base a RM.
Finally, the Committee found no evidence of a conduct deficiency and concluded that the RM was without merit and should be quashed and expunged from all of the grievor's records. The Committee also noted that the subsequent RM assigned to the grievor by the IA had already been the subject of a separate grievance and that it had been overturned.
The Committee recommended that the RM in dispute, and any subsequent RM stemming from it, be confirmed as rescinded, removed and destroyed. The Committee also recommended that all affected documentation be revised as necessary to remove any trace of the improper disclosure of personal health information about the grievor to the school.
FA decision summary
The Commander Canadian Army, acting as Final Authority (FA), agreed with the Committee's recommendation to cancel the recorded warning (RW). The FA agreed with the Committee's finding that the grievor was aggrieved and its findings of breaches of procedural fairness and violation of the Defence Administrative Orders and Directives 2017-1 in the administration of the RM and grievance. The FA agreed with the Committee that the evidence used against the grievor was inappropriate, unreliable and inadmissible, noting that the grievor's medical information was disclosed without her consent when medical personnel provided the course's staff with "negative opinions, and erroneous conclusions" about the grievor. The FA found that the grievor was injured at the time, that she did not commit a breach of conduct and that no RM was warranted. The FA also directed to the grievor's personnel evaluation reports that were impacted by the RW. The FA determined that the medical personnel had overstepped her role by providing course staff with her own interpretation of the grievor's motives. The FA directed the Surgeon General to ensure that medical staff of the unit are aware and abide by the Canadian Forces Health Services ethical standards as they pertain to patient confidentiality. The FA directed that the RW and related documents be removed from the grievor's file.
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