Jon Pinkus on company vaccine mandates

Interview Summary

Corporations across the country have decided to impose their own vaccine policies for both customers and staff despite no legislation from the provincial or federal government. While federal, and some federally regulated, employees have been instructed to be vaccinated by the federal government before October 2021, other employees are questioning their rights.

Jon Pinkus, an employment lawyer and Partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP joins CTV News Vancouver to discuss ongoing vaccination concerns and employee rights.

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• Can your boss force you to get a COVID-19 vaccine?
• How to respond if my boss is pressuring me to get a COVID-19 vaccine

Interview Notes

Is refusing a vaccine, cause for termination?

While the federal government has announced mandatory vaccines for all of its workers, there have yet to be any laws passed regarding mandatory COVID-19 vaccines for any employees.  Due to this, it will be very unlikely and problematic for employees to be terminated based on their vaccination status. Employers could face wrongful dismissal suits if proper severance has not been offered, as well as human rights violations.

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• Ontario severance pay
• Severance for B.C. employees
• Alberta severance packages