What Can Be Disclosed? Dealing with Employee Health Information in a Unionized Environment

On October 7, 2026, the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) released Investigation Report 242-2025, addressing seven privacy complaints involving the City of Moose Jaw.

Two of those complaints raise important questions about the disclosure of employee personal information in a unionized workplace.

The first complaint arose from a grievance-related meeting attended by union representatives. During that meeting, the employer discussed the employee's accommodation arrangements and disclosed information relating to the employee's medical circumstances. The second complaint involved a non-disciplinary meeting where a supervisor read portions of a letter concerning the employee's attendance record within earshot of other staff members.

The remaining five complaints are beyond the scope of this article.

Background

The meeting involving union representatives was intended to address the findings of a workplace investigation into alleged employee misconduct. Prior to the meeting, the employee had provided medical documentation to support a request for workplace accommodation. During the discussion, the employer went beyond the stated purpose of the meeting and:

• commented on the employee's workplace accommodations;
• criticized the quality of the medical information provided by the employee; and
• disclosed aspects of the employee's personal health information to the union representatives.

The second complaint arose in a different context. The employee's supervisor read portions of a letter concerning the employee's attendance record while administrative staff were nearby and able to overhear the discussion. No union representatives were present.

The employee subsequently filed privacy complaints, alleging that the employer had improperly disclosed personal information, including medical and accommodation-related information, to unauthorized third parties.

The OIPC's Decision

The OIPC reached different conclusions regarding the two incidents.

With respect to the attendance discussion, the OIPC determined that a privacy breach occurred because other employees were able to overhear the communication of personal information.

However, the OIPC concluded that no privacy breach occurred when the personal information was disclosed in the presence of union representatives. The Commissioner found that the disclosure was authorized under applicable provincial legislation.

The Tension Between Privacy Law and Labour Law

The decision highlights a broader legal tension between privacy law and labour law.

Privacy legislation generally analyzes whether personal information has been disclosed from one legal entity to another. From that perspective, a union may be viewed as a separate organization from the employer.

Labour law approaches the issue differently. Under collective bargaining legislation, the union is not merely an external third party. Rather, it has legally defined representational rights and responsibilities within the workplace.

The OIPC's analysis began from the premise that the union was legally separate from the City. This differs from the approach adopted by the Supreme Court of Canada in Bernard v. Canada, 2014 SCC 13, where the Court described the labour-relations framework as a statutorily created tripartite relationship involving the employer, the employee, and the union. Under that framework, the union is not treated as simply another third party receiving information.

The Privacy Legislation Framework
LAFOIP

The OIPC based its analysis on The Local Authority Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (LAFOIP) rather than Saskatchewan's health privacy legislation. The Commissioner concluded that section 28(2)(a) of LAFOIP authorized the City to disclose the employee's personal information to union representatives without obtaining the employee's consent.

For public-sector employers subject to LAFOIP, this provides statutory support for certain disclosures made to a union in the context of workplace administration and labour-relations matters.

For up-to-date advising or assistance with privacy or employment matters, contact one of McDougall Gauley’s Labour and Employment lawyers.