Author(s):
Susan Newell, Kelly O’Ferrall
Aug 16, 2021
With no modern era pandemic case law to draw upon, employers contemplating introducing workplace vaccination policies must take several factors into consideration. Workplace health and safety obligations must be balanced with other obligations, including those related to privacy and human rights laws. This was among the key points covered by Osler experts Susan Newell and Kelly O’Ferrall who participated in Medcan’s Return to the Worksite: Medical and Legal Experts on Potential Challenges and How to Address Them webinar.
It is unlikely every employee in a workplace will be vaccinated. There may be reasons stemming from protected grounds under human rights legislation – such as disability or religion – that prevent employees from being vaccinated. Such reasons may need to be accommodated and individual circumstances should be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Employers who want to use COVID-19 testing as an alternative to mandatory vaccines will need to consider who will collect and how they will use the information collected to ensure that employees’ legal rights are protected.
Watch the webinar