Employees who refuse to be vaccinated can be fired: lawyer
The federal government has said its workers must be vaccinated by October 29 or risk being terminated. Now private companies are also looking at bringing in their own vaccination polices.
Labour lawyer Howard Levitt, Senior Partner with Levitt LLP Employment & Labour Law expects many employees who refuse to get vaccinated will leave their jobs or be terminated in the months ahead.
“We have a lot of anti-vaxxers who are refusing to get vaccinated so they are going to be resigning or they are going to be fired and for cause," said Levitt.
Levitt said an employee fired for not getting vaccinated will most likely not receive severance pay and he feels if they sue their employer they will lose as the courts will see mandatory vaccinations as something that is being done for the greater good of society.
In the United States, American Airlines told its workers if they refuse to be vaccinated they will be fired.
Levitt says now that the federal government has mandated vaccines for its employees, private companies will follow.
“I suspect there will be monumental numbers of firings this fall. It's happening in the U.S. and it will happen here because employers are moving towards compulsory vaccinations for everybody," said Levitt.
Employees who insist on working from home to avoid being vaccinated could also lose their jobs.
Levitt said, “if an employer calls you back to work now and they refuse to attend, they have abandoned their job and they are entitled to nothing in forms of compensation."
Levitt also feels the exemptions being sought by some employees are only for a select few saying “there is no easy way out for employees that don't want to be vaccinated."
There is an exemption if you belong to a religion that prohibits vaccines, but Levitt believes there are no major religions that hold that as a tenet to their belief system. He feels there may be “fringe” religions that may, but said even then a person would have to show they were a long-time member of the religion and have written proof from a leader in the group specifying why they should not get a vaccine.
Levitt also said the two medical exceptions also affect very few people.
“The first is a severe, dangerous reaction toward the components of the vaccine or inflammation of the heart - that's it," said Levitt.
READ MORE: Ontario confirms there are only two valid medical exemptions from COVID-19 vaccines
The labour lawyer also said the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario is now cracking down on doctors who are handing out medical exemptions that may not be warranted and could face disciplinary action.
Fake vaccine passports are also being sold on the internet, but Levitt cautions against anyone lying about their vaccination status.
“If they get false proof or the employee lies that's cause for their discharge with cause and without any severance pay," said Levitt.
Companies may also have differing vaccination polices depending on the kind of work they do.
Anyone who quits their job because they don't want to be vaccinated could also find they're not eligible for unemployment insurance benefits.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Former Air Canada employees among suspects identified in gold heist at Pearson Airport: police
Nine people have been arrested in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year, Peel Regional Police said Wednesday.
MPs summon ArriveCan contractor to the House to be admonished in rare parliamentary display
Enacting an extraordinarily rarely used parliamentary power, MPs have summoned an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon to be admonished publicly for failing to answer their questions.
'Enormous sum of money': Actor Hugh Grant settles privacy lawsuit against tabloid
British actor Hugh Grant has settled a lawsuit against the publisher of Rupert Murdoch's tabloid newspaper, The Sun, over claims journalists used private investigators to tap his phone and burgle his house, he said on Wednesday.
Gas prices across Ontario expected to climb to levels not seen since 2022, analyst says
Ontario is going to see a big jump at the pumps later this week as gas prices in the province hit levels not seen in nearly two years, according to one industry analyst.
U.K. plan to phase out smoking for good passes first hurdle
The British government's plan for a landmark smoking ban that aims to stop young people from ever smoking cleared its first hurdle in Parliament on Tuesday despite vocal opposition from within Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative Party.
O.J. Simpson was chilling with a beer on a couch before Easter, lawyer says. 2 weeks later he was dead
O.J. Simpson's last robust discussion with his longtime lawyer was just before Easter, at the country club home Simpson leased southwest of the Las Vegas Strip. About a week later, on April 5, a doctor said Simpson was 'transitioning.'
Some of the winners and losers in the 2024 federal budget
With a variety of fiscal and policy measures announced in the federal budget, winners include small businesses and fintech companies while losers include the tobacco industry and Canadian pension funds.
Father of boy accused of stabbing 2 Australian clerics saw no signs of extremism, Muslim leader says
The father of a boy accused of stabbing two Christian clerics in Australia saw no signs of his son’s extremism, a Muslim community leader said on Wednesday as police began arresting suspected rioters who besieged a Sydney church demanding revenge.
A wobble reveals the most massive stellar black hole in our galaxy
Astronomers have spotted the most massive known stellar black hole in the Milky Way galaxy after detecting an unusual wobble in space.