Facts
The Member admitted that she engaged in professional misconduct. In December 2021, the Member accepted full-time employment as a Personal Support Manager through an agency. Shortly after accepting the employment offer and providing the agency with her banking information, the Member informed the agency that she would not be accepting the job. The Member never started work but was inadvertently paid by the agency for more than a year. After statutory deductions, the Member received $53,247.60 from the agency in error which she did not repay.
Discipline Committee’s Findings
Based on the Member’s admissions, a panel of the Discipline Committee of the College of Nurses of Ontario (the “Panel”) found that the Member:
- contravened a standard of practice of the profession or failed to meet the standards of practice of the profession;
- misappropriated property from a workplace; and
- engaged in conduct, relevant to the practice of nursing, that, having regard to all the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as dishonourable and unprofessional.
Discipline Committee’s Order
The College of Nurses of Ontario (“CNO”) and the Member presented the Panel with a Joint Submission on Order requesting that the Panel make an order that included the following:
- an oral reprimand;
- a 6-month suspension;
- terms, conditions and limitations, including:
- attending a minimum of 2 meetings with a Regulatory Expert; and
- employer notification for 12 months.
The Panel accepted the Joint Submission on Order, concluding that the proposed penalty was reasonable and in the public interest. The Panel noted that the Member cooperated with the CNO and accepted responsibility by agreeing to the facts and a proposed order.
The Panel highlighted that nurses must act with honesty and integrity, and accepting money in error from an employer does not reflect those fundamental requirements.