Employers across the country have begun firing employees who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to lawyers who say they are inundated with vaccine-related cases and claims of wrongful dismissal.
The deluge of cases sets up a crucial legal test of vaccine mandates imposed by employers, one that pits the individual rights of workers against employers’ health and safety concerns amid a pandemic that has dragged on for almost two years.
“The question we are all trying to answer is, can an employer, in a non-unionized setting terminate an employee with cause for not getting vaccinated? In my view, they cannot, except in very specific circumstances,” said Lai-King Hum, founder of Hum Law, a boutique law firm in Toronto that deals exclusively with labour and employment issues.
“The complication that employers are starting to realize is if your employment agreement did not state from the very beginning that vaccines are compulsory, then you would likely have to pay an employee if you want to terminate them. That cost adds up,” Ms. Hum said.
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