Pregnant orderly at Montreal seniors' residence was left in the lurch: no disability pay, no reassignment

An unidentified pregnant woman is shown. Photo by Kei Scampa: Pexels

A woman who works as an orderly at a Montreal seniors' residence says despite having sent the required documents to her employer, CIUSSS West-Central Montreal, she has not been paid for a pregnancy-related medical leave, nor has she been reassigned to lighter duties as her doctor recommends.

Instead, Omoyemi Adekoya says she was bounced around from department to department and that too many phone messages and emails went unanswered by the health and safety administrator at the CIUSSS, and her head nurse at the residence.

She says falling through the cracks is frustrating and stressful, and she has also been worried about how she will take care of her family.

"I've never been this stranded, like, I'm literally stranded. I don't have income for six weeks, I have to pay rent, I have a toddler that I have to feed," said Adekoya, who works at at Saint-Andrew Residential Centre at 3350 Cavendish Blvd.

Her health concerns began at the end of June when she went to the emergency room at the Jewish General Hospital with cramping and bleeding. The ER doctor gave her a document directing her to take 14 days off from work.

About two weeks later, her doctor ran more tests and added an additional 14 days of rest, before concluding the orderly could return to work but in a safer job.

NO PAYCHEQUE, NO REASSIGNMENT

On top of the pay issue, it also strikes her as incomprehensible that at a time when the health-care system is short of staff, a person like herself, who wants to work – but safely, has been sitting at home waiting for answers.

"I'm giving you (her employer) a doctor's note that says I need to be reassigned, and you're telling me it's not going to be taken into consideration because health and safety say you're vaccinated, and you can work…but that's not the point," Adekoya says.

The doctor's point is spelled out in the note she wrote on Aug. 7 and has been viewed by CTV News.

The doctor states that Adekoya is having a normal pregnancy and can work, but the job "is risky for her."

"The job of orderly involves risks for any normal pregnancy, ergonomic and biological risks," the doctor wrote.

That directive aligns with a Quebec worker health and safety board program (CNESST) that says, "It is the worker's right to be assigned to tasks that do not involve danger to the unborn or breast-feeding child, or to herself, because of her state of pregnancy."

Adekoya said one of the dangers at the residence she deals with is how much lifting she has to do because "most of the residents are not able to do anything by themselves."

"You could also sustain injuries, like unexpectedly you could twist your arm just while trying to help. To ensure the resident does not fall, you could take the fall for them," she said.

She also has to contend with patients who may become aggressive due to dementia-related conditions.

Biological risks can include exposure to toxic products like certain cancer medications, for example, taken by some of the residents she cares for.

As a result of her regular job description, her doctor said she "must be reassigned immediately; if no reassignment is available, she must stop." Her doctor suggested one safe task would be to help feed residents, Adekoya said.

But her efforts to return to work have led nowhere, she said.

"My head nurse wasn't willing to reassign me even though I gave her a doctor's note," she said.her 

ANSWERS TRICKLE IN

Adekoya says she struggled alone to get the support she needed for two months before contacting CTV News for help.

"They don't seem to care if you're pregnant or not. They want me to choose between my health or if I need the money, so if I go in, I'll get paid. When we don't come in, we're going to starve you," she said.

We contacted the administrator dealing with Adekoya's case directly, who told us she was bound by confidentiality and couldn't comment.

Two emails to media relations at the CIUSSS-West-Central Montreal asking about Adekoya's predicament finally yielded some results, she told us.

On Sept. 8, the administrator in question emailed her and confirmed they'd now accepted her salary insurance claims.

"Upon receipt of your medical certificate, we inform you that we authorize your period of absence due to disability from 2023-06-29 to 2023-08-22," it said.

CIUSSS spokesperson Barry Morgan declined to comment specifically on the case for confidentiality reasons and would only say, in part, that "each situation is carefully assessed and staff members are always supported to the fullest extent within the legal framework."

But there was no explanation as to why it's taken more than a month to confirm that she would receive what she was owed.

"Sincerely, I am not happy it had to get to this point before they agreed to pay me, and I am very certain it's because you intervened [that] I am getting paid," Adekoya said when she heard the news.

She has yet to receive a paycheque but hopes it will be deposited on her next payday, Sept. 21.

The administrator's most recent email also reiterated that Adekoya could return to work on Aug. 23. It said that if she couldn't resume her regular tasks, she could get a new doctor's note and submit more salary insurance forms.

There was no mention of reassignment.

"If they are unable to reassign me, then I will go with the other option of being off work," Adekoya said.

After we asked the CNESST about the case, an employee contacted Adekoya on Tuesday and said he would contact her employer.

On Sept. 21, Adekoya told us there had finally been some progress with her case. "I just received my payment for the period indicated," she said in an email.

She also said she'd received notice that a CNESST file has been opened.

With files from CTV's Luca Caruso-Moro