The controversial vaccine mandate has created a lot of uncertainty as many people have lost their jobs for refusing to receive the Covid vaccine. Too often, employees across the country are being told to make a choice, to either take the jab or to face consequences ranging from suspension to termination. While many employers believe that the government approval of the mandate gives them the legal right to discipline those refusing to be vaccinated, the consensus amongst employment lawyers is that refusing to get vaccinated does not justify an employee’s termination. This opinion is becoming mainstream as a number of…

Background and Decision A recent decision by Arbitrator Misra held in favor of the union Healthcare, Office and Professional Employees Union, Local 2220. The employer Chartwell Housing Reit introduced a mandatory vaccination policy which included their right to terminate employees who refused to comply. The Arbitrator held that the policy was unreasonable and took the following provisions of the collective agreement between the employer and employee into consideration. The first relevant provision was that an employer must discuss changes with the union prior to making any meaningful change to workplace rules. The second relevant provision was that working conditions, benefits,…

Mandatory Vaccination Policies Must Be Reasonable The Power Worker’s Union (“PWU”) has won a victory for unions seeking to challenge employers’ mandatory vaccination policies. On November 11, 2021 Arbitrator Stout found that aspects of the Electrical Safety Authority’s (“ESA”) mandatory covid-19 vaccination policy to be unreasonable in the circumstances. This decision comes only two days after Arbitrator von Veh upheld a similar vaccination policy in United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Canada Local 333 v. Paragon Protection Ltd. (Paragon) that had been implemented at Paragon Protection Ltd. There are key findings in Arbitrator Stout’s decision that will inform future attempts…

Bill 27, the Working for Workers Act, has passed in the Ontario Legislature. The Act will reform several statutes of Ontario, including the Employment Standards Act (ESA). Most importantly, the Ontario Government has changed the rules surrounding work-related communications after working hours, and a new ban on most non-compete agreements. Disconnecting From Work The last 2 years have seen a huge increase in the number of workers working from home. To curb the encroachment of work on people’s lives, Ontario has also passed a new provision that requires employers to write and implement policies on “disconnecting from work”. Disconnecting from…

Update: On the afternoon of Friday, October 29, Justice Dunphy of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice lifted the temporary injunction that had paused the termination of a group of unvaccinated employees at UHN. Justice Dunphy held that the Court did not have the jurisdiction to grant the relief sought by the claimants. In his decision, he held that the unions alone had the authority to bring a claim of this nature and that the dispute should be heard through the labour relations system. Though this update answers some questions about the jurisdiction of the Court where unions are involved,…