Alex Lucifero, employment lawyer on workplace vaccine requirements

Interview Summary

As vaccine passports are announced for the province of Ontario, many employees and employers are wondering what this will mean for their workplaces. Will employers be able to enforce vaccinations in order to keep businesses open? What rights do employees have to refuse to be vaccinated?

Alex Lucifero, an Ottawa employment lawyer and Partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP joins CTV News Ottawa with Matt Skube to answer these questions and more.

Interview Notes

Will employers be able to mandate vaccinations for their employees?

Employers currently cannot force employees to be vaccinated or penalize or terminate employees based on their vaccination status. Only the provincial government is able to legislate vaccinations and employers should be wary of implementing policies without government support.

What should employees know if their employer is imposing a vaccine policy?

Employers are permitted to encourage and incentivize their employees to be vaccinated. Employers need to stop short of penalizing or terminating employees due to their vaccination status and can implement other health and safety protocols to ensure the workplace is safe.

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My employer is pressuring me to be vaccinated

Can an employer place an employee on unpaid leave until they are vaccinated?

Employers can only implement measures such as an unpaid leave of absence for failure to vaccinate, if they are in a sector in which the government has mandated vaccinations. In sectors in which there is no legislation regarding vaccines employers will be liable for legal action from employees.