No ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution when it comes to vaccine mandates at work: experts

Ontarians shouldn't expect a black-and-white, across-the-board answer on whether such policies can always be imposed, the experts said.

TORONTO — A year after COVID-19 vaccines first arrived in Canada, employers and workers in the country’s most populous province are getting a clearer picture of when and what kind of immunization mandates can be enforced in the workplace, legal experts said following recent rulings on the issue.

However, Ontarians shouldn’t expect a black-and-white, across-the-board answer on whether such policies — which in some cases involve firing non-compliant staff — can always be imposed, the experts said.

A series of recent decisions has shown labour arbitrators are considering the specifics of each workplace and policy in determining whether the mandates can be imposed in a unionized setting, said Michael Cleveland, a lawyer with the firm Miller Thomson.

“There’s not going to be a one-size-fits-all solution,” he said in a recent interview.

“Ultimately, what is reasonable depends on the specific circumstances of the workplace and also things like the surrounding circumstances, (like) is there really expanding community spread in the environment.”

In one ruling delivered in November, an arbitrator upheld a policy implemented by a security company whose staff worked at roughly 450 sites throughout the province, most of which had their own vaccination requirements.

The policy allowed employees to request accommodation for medical reasons or creed, but indicated that breaches of the mandate could lead to discipline, including termination for just cause, according to the ruling.

The arbitrator, Fred von Veh, found the policy was both reasonable and enforceable, and struck a balance between the rights of employees seeking not to be vaccinated and the rights of others, including clients, to a safe workplace.