Work: What’s Next | Lifting of federal vaccine mandates

Interview Summary

The federal government has announced vaccine mandates for federal and federally regulated employees across the country will be lifted. What will this mean for employees who were placed on an unpaid leave of absence? Could these mandates be reinstated in the future and if so, what could that mean for employees?

Lior Samfiru, an employment lawyer and national co-managing partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP joins Global News on Work What’s Next to discuss the implications of this decision for employees.

Interview Notes

• Federal workers in the travel industry: For employees that are unionized and in the transportation industry and have been off of work must be brought back to their workplace. Non-unionized employees, however, must be either brought back or their employment is terminated and owed severance pay.
• Federally regulated employees placed on leave due to vaccination: Many federally regulated employers implemented their own vaccine policies despite no government mandate. Employers in this sector can no longer look to the mandate as a justification and must bring employees back or pay severance. There are currently many wrongful dismissal cases in court and employees in this situation have a much stronger case.
• Vaccine mandates brought back in the future: Employers must take their guidance from the government and implement the necessary policies. If there are no government mandates, employers are taking a risk by implementing their own policies. Employers can and will have to follow suit if government mandates are re-introduced.
• Vaccine policies for provincial employees: Employers regulated by the provincial government that continue to insist on vaccine policies are exposed to wrongful dismissal claims and have significant liability.
• Notice to employees returning to the office: Employers must give their employees reasonable notice to return to the office. Employees who have not been given reasonable notice cannot be considered to have abandoned their jobs if they are unable to return.

READ MORE:
• List of federally regulated companies