Employment Law Show 640 Toronto – S9 E81

Episode Summary

Vaccine mandates for employees, vaccinations in the workplace, and more on Season 9 Episode 81 of the Employment Law Show on Global News Radio 640 Toronto.

Listen below as Employment Lawyer Lior Samfiru, Partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, reveals your workplace rights in Toronto, the GTA, Hamilton, London, and across Ontario on the Employment Law Show. Lior shatters myths and misconceptions about severance pay, terminations, workplace harassment, overtime pay, wrongful dismissal, constructive dismissal, duty to accommodate, independent contractors, and more.

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Episode Notes

I have been on a layoff since March 2019. Last summer they put me on IDEL. What can I do?

Since you accepted the layoff then right now you can only wait and see if you get called back to work. Currently the IDEL ends on September 25th. If you hadn’t accepted it, you could have said it was a constructive dismissal. If IDEL ends and you’re not called back to work, then you can claim constructive dismissal. However, IDEL could be extended, so watch out for that. This is why it’s always important not to accept a layoff, because it doesn’t allow you to pursue a constructive dismissal.

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What happens to my layoff when IDEL ends in Ontario?

I signed a job offer at another company. If my current employer makes a counteroffer, can I accept it?

Potentially an employer could pursue it against you if you signed a job offer and didn’t take the job in the end. The chances are small that they would pursue it against you, but theoretically they could.

LEARN MORE
Employment Contracts in Ontario: What You Need to Know

My employer of 14 years wants me to get double vaccinated. I work as a crossing guard. What should I do?

If you are a non-unionized employee, it may be illegal for your employer to force you to get vaccinated. However, if your employer is determined to fire you, there is no way to stop them from doing so in this case. If you are let go, you are likely owed potentially 18 months’ pay in severance. Human rights damages may also apply. The other viable option would be to get vaccinated against COVID-19. If you do lose your job, contact Samfiru Tumarkin LLP so that an employment lawyer can secure your fair severance package.

I’m a frontline worker, and I don’t want to get the vaccine. What can I do?

Since you are a unionized employee, the only one who can do something about this issue is your union. If your union supports you, then they’ll file a grievance, and they can get you reinstated and get compensation. If the union doesn’t support you in this, they may say they just want everyone to be vaccinated, then unfortunately, you don’t have any options.

My company is paying me through the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) program, but that’s ending.  At what point will my employer  give me my severance?

That’s up to you, you can get your severance package right now. If you allow your employer to do so, they can drag it out forever. In this situation, the law says it’s up to you. If you want to get your severance now, if you consider your employment to be terminated which you absolutely can, then you can get your severance.

LEARN MORE
Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy: The Facts

My daughter is a nurse at a big hospital, and she doesn’t want to get vaccinated. What can she do?

If she is not part of a union, and if her employer said she has to get vaccinated, if she loses her job that could be a wrongful dismissal and a human rights violation, and she could be owed compensation if she loses her job. That said, that’s not going to save her job. There’s no way to stop the hospital from letting her go. You have a choice to either get a vaccination and keep your job or lose your and get compensation.

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Human Rights Violations in the Workplace

My employer told us that we have to get vaccinated or lose our jobs. What are my legal rights?

In this situation, what your employer is doing is if you lose your job, that’s going to be potentially illegal. It would be a wrongful dismissal and maybe even a human rights violation. But ultimately, you can’t prevent your employer from letting you go. It’s just about pursuing compensation.

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Can My Employer Mandate the COVID-19 Vaccine?

I  am a TTC employee. Do I have to disclose my vaccination status?

If your employer says if you don’t get vaccinated, you lose your job then and if you don’t get vaccinated, you will definitely lose your job. You can’t stop that from happening. But then your union would have to support you and file a grievance to try to get you reinstated with back pay.

My employer is making vaccines mandatory for employees. I don’t want to get vaccinated. If I lose my job, will I still be owed severance?

The reality is that even if they don’t call you back regardless of the vaccine, you can get severance because that lay off that they put you on back in 2020 is a termination. They didn’t have a right to put you on the layoff to begin with you, so you can decide to pursue severance right now. But beyond that, if you do go back to work, if they then terminate you because you did not get vaccinated, yes, you would be owed severance and potentially human rights damages if you are not part of a union.

I’ve had COVID-19 and I’m told that I have immunity. Who are the expert witnesses if this issue goes to court?

There won’t be any need for expert witnesses in court because the question is going to be, does an employer have a right to mandate vaccines or is that a human rights violation? That’s a legal issue. Not a medical issue. So there will be no doctors or experts in that regard. None of that’s going to be relevant if there’s ever issues surrounding mandatory vaccines.

Can my employer fire me for theft, even though I never stole anything?

You have an arbitration coming up with the union, and the union is going to grieve this. If the employer can’t prove that you stole anything, they’re going to lose. If they can prove it, then then you won’t be successful.

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Poor Conduct & Terminations: What’s Legal?

My employer says that employees can get vaccinated, submit to the daily testing, or take an unpaid leave. What are my options?

Unless you have a medical exemption, something from a doctor saying you can’t get a vaccine for a medical reason, if you don’t do the testing or the vaccination, your employer is going to let you go or put you on an unpaid leave. We cannot stop that, but you will be owed severance. It’s not a human rights violation if there’s the option of having a COVID-19 test instead of a vaccine. You have to decide would you rather lose your job and get severance in this situation or keep your job. If it comes to losing your job, contact Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, and we’ll help you.

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Lior Samfiru on COVID-19 vaccine exemptions in the workplace