100 permanent teachers, staff at TDSB placed on unpaid leave after not disclosing COVID-19 vaccination status
Nearly two per cent of all fulltime and occasional staff members at the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) have been placed on a leave of absence without pay after refusing to disclose their COVID-19 vaccination status.
As of 5 p.m., on Nov. 2, 100 permanent staff and 643 occasional staff did not submit their mandatory vaccine attestation and, as a result, have been placed on a non-disciplinary administrative leave of absence without pay, the TDSB said.
The TDSB noted that the vast majority of occasional staff who did not submit their status did not work in the TDSB during the 2021-22 school year.
The mandatory vaccination policy applies to all school board employees and volunteers, including occasional teachers and casual education workers, school board trustees and student transportation drivers.
Of the permanent staff who refused to submit their vaccination status, 13 are elementary teachers and three are secondary teachers, according to a tweet from TDSB Trustee Shelley Laskin.
Only 77 of the 195 occasional and casual elementary teachers who didn’t complete their attestation worked this school year.
Meanwhile, 28 of the 121 occasional secondary teachers who didn’t submit their status worked this year, and of the 327 support staff who didn’t complete the attestation, only 154 worked this school year.
So far, more than 86 per cent of the TDSB’s active staff members are fully vaccinated against the disease, 1.64 per cent are partially vaccinated and 2.56 per cent are unvaccinated.
The TDSB has a total of 41,485 staff members, including employees who are permanent, occasional and on-leave.
Over two per cent of TDSB employees have requested a religious or medical exemption.
Last week, the TDSB said it was extending its Nov. 2 vaccination deadline by nearly three weeks for some workers due to longer than anticipated time to review a significant number of exemptions.
Staff have until Nov. 19 to get their first dose, and until Dec. 19 to receive their second and be considered fully vaccinated.
Anyone who applied for a medical exemption and is denied will have 45 days from when they were denied to get a vaccine dose, and will have to get tested bi-weekly during that time.
If employees don’t receive a dose by Nov. 21 they will be placed on unpaid leave.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Hulk Hogan, hurricanes and a blockbuster recording: A week in review of the Trump hush money trial
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Two killed after collision with truck on Hwy. 417 near Limoges, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police say two people were killed after a car and a transport truck collided in the westbound lanes of Highway 417 near Limoges, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
‘We made them safer and more fun’: Here’s what’s new about e-scooters
Electric scooters (e-scooters) have been gaining popularity in the capital and this season comes with some changes and updates.
What a U.S. farmworker’s case of bird flu tells us about tracking the infection
A U.S. farmworker who caught bird flu after working with dairy cattle in Texas appears to be the first known case of mammal-to-human transmission of the virus, a new study shows.