# 2019-081 Careers, Class B Reserve Service, Medical Employment Limitation
Class B Reserve Service, Medical Employment Limitation (MEL)
Case summary
F&R Date: 2020-07-03
The grievor argued that he was deprived of over three months of work during the 2018 Full-Time Summer Employment (FTSE) program, as a direct result of the long delay in obtaining his medical employment waiver approval from the Chief of Military Personnel (CMP). As redress, he sought compensation for the days of Class “B” service he could have worked had the CMP approved his medical waiver promptly.
The grievance was referred directly to the Final Authority (FA) for adjudication because the CMP reports directly to the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS).
The Committee found that the grievor could have been employed for the entire period of the 2018 FTSE program had it not been for the three and a half month delay in CMP approving his medical waiver. The Committee noted that, in recognition of the extensive administrative delay involved in seeking CMP approval for each individual case, the 2019 FTSE policy granted hiring units the authority to employ members for periods up to 89 days pending receipt of the approved medical waiver. However, the Committee found that no similar authorization had been granted to employ members during the 2018 FTSE.
Finding that the grievor had wished to be employed throughout the 2018 FTSE, and that the unit had wanted to employ him but was blocked by the lack of an approved medical waiver, the Committee concluded that the grievor was aggrieved.
The Committee recommended that the FA exercise his ex gratia authority to compensate the grievor for the lost income opportunity he suffered.
FA decision summary
The CDS agreed with the Committee's findings and recommendation to grant the redress by providing him with an ex gratia payment. The CDS agreed that the grievor cannot be compensated for the period he was not on class "B", however, the CDS was prepared to recognize that the maladministration from the significant delay to have the grievor's waiver signed caused him to lose out on a valuable experiential employment opportunity in 2018. The CDS therefore afforded the grievor an ex gratia payment of $5000,00.