#2018-107 Releases, Medical Employment Limitation

Case Summary

F&R Date: 2019–08–23

The Committee had to determine whether the grievor’s assigned Medical Employment Limitations (MEL) were justified.

The Initial Authority stated that adverse medical consequences could lead to a serious permanent disability and were likely to cause a serious outcome to the mission given that the member would be incapable of defending himself. 

The Committee found that the medical evidence on file demonstrated that the MEL assigned to the grievor were justified.  

FA Decision Summary

The Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) agreed with the Committee’s finding that the grievance was moot since the Director Military Careers Administration (DMCA) had cancelled its decision to release the grievor for medical reasons. He noted a breach of the grievor’s right to procedural fairness since DMCA did not disclose all relevant information, but found that the Committee's disclosure and opportunity to provide comments cured it. The CDS directed a hold on issuing DMCA decisions on MEL that would otherwise trigger a release on the grounds that they are in breach of the Universality of Service principle. He explains that he tasked the Commander Military Personnel Command to “take a focused look at MEL and the impact they are having on medical release rates for members who … are in contravention of the current suite of universality of service task statements”, stating that “the Universality of Service Review Project is currently underway”.