# 2021-164 Pay and Benefits, Allowances and Benefits, Risk allowance

Case summary

F&R Date: 2021-12-20

The grievor, a critical care nurse, requested that she be recognized as part of Operation LASER and, as such, be entitled to the COVID Exceptional Hazard Allowance (EHA). Having worked in a hospital during COVID, the grievor stated she was more exposed to the virus in the course of her duties and that she should not be penalized simply because her work had been in a hospital rather than in a long-term care centre.

The Initial Authority explained that the right to the EHA is limited to people deployed as part of Operation LASER or Operation GLOBE. The grievor, not part of either operation, was thereby not entitled to EHA.

The Committee found the facts of the case demonstrated the grievor had been authorized to return to work in a hospital at the express request of the civil authorities. Additionally, the Canadian Armed Forces had allowed the grievor to be employed in a COVID environment. The Committee concluded that the grievor's employment was entirely consistent with the very essence of Operation LASER, which is to provide ongoing support to civil authorities in response to requests from various levels of government and their agencies. Consequently, the grievor should be assigned to Operation LASER for the period in which she worked in the COVID intensive care unit. However, as the grievor served in the emergency room, which is not a long-term care centre, the Committee concluded she was not eligible for the EHA provided for in the Compensation and Benefits Instructions (CBI).

The Committee recommended that the Final Authority (FA) not grant EHA to the grievor and that the FA assign the grievor to Operation LASER for the duration of her employment in the intensive care unit and COVID emergency services. Furthermore, the Committee recommended that the FA request another modification (retroactive to 1 February 2020), of CBI 205.38 (3.1) that deals with the duties and the exposure to risk rather than the place of work.