RCMP accused of invasion of privacy in handling employee health evaluations

A union representing nearly 1,000 telecom operators and intercept monitor analysts at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is accusing the employer of invasion of privacy towards its employees.

The claim stems from a new health evaluation process that requires employees to disclose highly personal information in areas irrelevant to the job, which the RCMP and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat introduced last year

The process has become a “fishing expedition” without clear criteria for determining fitness for duty, says the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) 104.

“This scrutiny goes far beyond what’s needed and violates our members’ privacy rights,” says CUPE 104 president Kathleen Hippern.

Canadian HR Reporter has not seen a response from the RCMP about the matter as of writing of this article.

Employers have an obligation to protect employee privacy and personal employee information, as Canadian HR Reporter previously reported.

RCMP’s evaluation process

RCMP’s new evaluation process replaces what the union describes as “much-needed and appreciated” in-person psychological assessments by a licensed psychologist with “an ineffective paper-based self-reporting form”. 

The shift undermines mental health support further straining already stretched staff, says the union. Already, CUPE 104 members are suffering and need proper mental health support. 

“It’s unconscionable that the RCMP would intentionally do this to them,” says the union.

CUPE also claims that its members must undergo invasive evaluations unlike other police departments across Canada performing similar work, and that this sets “a troubling precedent”. 

CUPE 104 also condemns the lack of consultation regarding these changes, which, they say, is a breach of Article 20 of the collective agreement. 

“The employer is required to consult with the union before implementing new measures, but that didn’t happen,” Hippern notes. “If this policy goes unchallenged, it sets a dangerous precedent for other public service workers.”

Previously, the Ontario city’s health care provider fired eight employees who accessed the personal health information of about 4,000 patients in what Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) called “snooping cases.”