An Employer’s Expensive Knee-Jerk Reaction: Minkarious v. Physical Relief Home Care

Kelly VanBuskirk, KC

An Ontario court decision issued in late 2025 reminds employers that emotional reactions during an employee's medical leave can lead to significant legal and financial consequences. In Minkarious v. Physical Relief Home Care, 2025 ONSC 7245 (CanLII), https://canlii.ca/t/kh86m,  the employer’s exasperation with an employee’s alleged job performance errors boiled over when, facing a hard meeting about the employer’s concerns, the employee went on medical leave. What the employer did next resulted in a nearly $35,000 loss in court—a cautionary tale worth examining.

Running a small business is inherently stressful, and when a key employee goes on medical leave during a critical time, frustration is natural. In this case, the employer was dealing with apparent billing errors that had cost the employer revenue and had threatened client relationships. Just before a critical meeting to investigate the problem, the employee responsible for the billing went on medical leave.

As one might expect, the employer did not react well to the employee’s medical leave.  Already under pressure, the employer was now unable to access crucial information about the billing problem.  When the employee didn’t immediately return a company cell phone, the employer reacted badly, and that’s where the case unravelled.

An unplanned sick leave can cause stress for the employee and their supervisor.

Frustrated about unreturned company property, the owner of the company showed up unannounced at the employee's home, entered uninvited, and created what the court deemed an "inappropriate" confrontation that left the employee "crying, shaking and very rattled."

Further, the employer sent numerous texts to the employee that the court found to be "adversarial in nature." As an example, the employer repeatedly demanded to know "what's wrong with you?"   The employer also threatened legal action if the employee made any slanderous comments about it and continued to pressure the employee about returning to work.

What key lessons can employers extract from this case?

1. Treat employees on disability leave with respect.  Employers can sometimes request clarifying medical information, but the requests have to be done properly.

 2. Recovering company property from an employee on disability leave should be handled carefully and should be framed by a company policy that specifies when and how cell phones, computers, keys, and other property must be returned. 

 3. Don’t rely on your instincts when addressing employee leaves of absence. Instead, take time to consult with your lawyer (or another advisor) and communicate with the employee in a professional manner without emotional language.

When dealing with employee medical leaves, the message is clear: your frustration, however justified it may feel, cannot override an employee's rights. Take a breath, seek advice, and remember that the cost of acting on emotion can far exceed the temporary inconvenience of an absence.