'They could be fired': Employees may need to show proof of vaccination as workplaces reopen
As Ontario inches toward its economic reopening and employers prepare to recall their workers, labour lawyers are warning that in some cases employees may need to be vaccinated to hold onto their jobs.
“Any employee working cheek-to-jowl with other employees could be ordered to be vaccinated,” employment lawyer Howard Levitt said Monday. “If they don’t, they could be fired.”
Levitt predicts that requiring employees who work alongside others to be fully immunized could be part of the province’s post-pandemic normal, given that employers are legally obligated to operate a safe workplace—and could face steep fines and other tough penalties if they don’t.
The main exceptions would be on medical or religious grounds, which Levitt says would have to be substantive and documented.
“There would have to be accommodations for such situations,” Lai-King Hum, founder of Hum Law Firm, told CTV Toronto on Monday.
“In some workplaces that may mean that those employees would have to work in an area where they are not in contact with other employers.”
But there is no legal requirement for employers to accommodate employees who refuse to be vaccinated by offering separate workspaces or work-from-home options, according to Levitt.
Quebec recently said that certain health care workers would need to be fully vaccinated, but a spokesperson for Ontario’s Ministry of Labour said Monday that the provincial government is not considering any vaccine mandates.
In the U.S., Saks is requiring immunization for workers heading back to head office, and the cast and crew of the broadway production Hamilton are also required to be vaccinated. Airlines like United and Delta have imposed vaccination criteria on new hires.
Labour lawyers say any vaccine requirement in Ontario workplaces could apply to staff who work alongside colleagues, and especially the public, but not to employees who work-from-home.
Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act does not directly address vaccination or the enforcement of employer vaccination policies for workers.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Ottawa injects another $36M into fund for those seriously injured or killed by vaccines
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
'Secret report' or standard research? B.C. government addresses safe supply allegations
B.C.’s premier and one of his top lieutenants are pushing back against allegations by the Official Opposition that he covertly commissioned a report into the diversion of safe supply drugs onto the streets.
Video shows suspects waving weapons, smashing glass in Toronto jewelry store robbery
Arrests have been made after five men were captured on video rampaging through a jewelry store in Toronto, waving weapons and smashing glass display cases.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
She was too sick for a traditional transplant. So she received a pig kidney and a heart pump
Doctors have transplanted a pig kidney into a New Jersey woman who was near death, part of a dramatic pair of surgeries that also stabilized her failing heart.
What Canadians think of the latest Liberal budget
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Teacher shortages see some Ontario high school students awarded perfect grades on midterm exams
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.