Over the past few years, local and regional USJE representatives have been reporting a significant growth in the number of members coming forward seeking support/representation with their personal “return to work” (RTW) or Duty to Accommodate situations. In fact, many of these cases are coming to the attention of union representatives after the employer has already engaged the member, individually, in their internal RTW or “accommodation approval” process, which often results in difficulties and denials.
Historically, at the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC), there have been disability management processes in place where members cases (RTW and Duty to Accommodate ) were reviewed at the local and regional levels and where management and union representatives would work together to support the employee through these processes. For USJE members, these discussions would only take place when a USJE member had provided their written consent and acknowledged that they wanted a union representative to be involved.
Unfortunately, in recent years, many of these local and regional reviews stopped taking place with no explanation so USJE regional representatives pushed back and demanded that they be reestablished.
Over the past 15 months, USJE has been regularly advocating for CSC to examine how it administers its RTW and accommodation processes and to ensure that it has consistent practices across the country. Concerns were expressed that USJE members were “falling through the cracks” and that the re-establishment of local and regional committees should be made a priority to help mitigate the situation.
During the course of this advocacy, it was recognized that there was a need to update the employer’s consent form in order to ensure that employees understand the disability management processes in place and the role the union could play in supporting the employee through the process.
On October 5, 2026, CSC released an internal memo which provided an update on the creation of a national Terms of Reference for Joint Disability Management and Accommodation Committees. It also advised of the implementation of the new employee consent form for employees represented by USJE. CSC identified that this new consent form was put in place to support earlier engagement with union representatives.
This memo identified that consultation was “ongoing” and that both CSC and USJE have recognized that meaningful discussions on Duty to Accommodate, leave, and return to work cases can occur without a formal committee structure, provided employee consent is obtained.
CSC also provided the following direction to its management teams:
Where consent is provided, case information may be discussed:
- Through a local or regional Return to Work and/or Duty to Accommodate committee process, where one already exists; or
- Through discussions intended to support the employee and facilitate case management.
Managers are to provide the new consent attestation via an email template to all employees represented by USJE who:
- Are currently participating in the accommodation process and/or have a workplace accommodation in place;
- Have been absent due to illness or injury for more than 30 days; or
- Are currently participating in a return-to-work process following an illness or injury.
CSC’s decision to have this new consent form sent to all members who are currently seeking a RTW and/or accommodation or have been previously involved in a workplace accommodation is to ensure that members are aware that their union is available to assist (when written consent is provided).
While CSC had initially proposed to begin with a small “pilot” before considering to proceed with the reestablishment of these committees across the country, USJE representatives again pushed back and identified that all members should have access to these supports when facing a RTW or Duty to Accommodate situation. It is hoped that CSC will move forward to reestablishing these committees in the near future.
USJE will continue to monitor the progress CSC is making in the months ahead while ensuring that the right to representation is being respected.