Government lifts COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federally regulated employees

The Government of Canada is lifting its COVID-19 vaccine mandates for federal public servants and federally regulated employees in the transportation industry. The Treasury Board of Canada announced Tuesday that the change will come into effect on June 20, 2022.

How this impacts federally regulated employees

This change will affect some, but not all federally regulated workers in Canada.

• Transportation sector: Employees in the air, rail and marine transportation sector will no longer be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to work as of June 20, 2022. Workers placed on unpaid leave for failing to get vaccinated by the end of October 2021 will be contacted by their employer to return to work.
• Other federally regulated workers: Despite popular belief, there has never been a vaccine mandate for all other federally regulated employees (banks, telecommunications), though the government suggested they were going to enact one at some point.

What happens if you aren’t called back to work?

The federal government stated that federally regulated transportation employees sitting on leave without pay will be returned to their duties by their managers. If you are not recalled to your job, you are owed full severance pay, and should contact an employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP to find out how to obtain the proper amount.

If you work in another federally regulated industry, and were placed on an unpaid leave or fired because your refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19, you have a right to a proper severance package.

Could the government reinstate vaccine mandates?

The Government of Canada said that the option to reintroduce COVID-19 vaccine mandates for federal public servants and regulated employees remains available depending on the course of the pandemic. This includes the penalty of suspension without pay for workers who do not comply with the requirement.