Monday, March 6, 2023

Litigation Strategy Update

CLAC continues to litigate vaccine mandates in Ontario that require workers to either receive two or more doses of the vaccine or be terminated

While we are seeing a growing number of employers relax mandatory vaccine policies, many of them remain in place to this day—especially in the healthcare sector.

Our lead case on this issue last year against Revera Inc. was unsuccessful. The case law on this issue has continued to be unfavourable since then.

While there have been small victories in the case law, those decisions have not been followed by arbitrators in any meaningful way, leaving us little leverage in getting unvaccinated workers back into the workplace.

In spite of the headwind of caselaw against us, we have decided to push ahead with one final attempt to turn the tide on this topic with a lead case in healthcare. We came to this decision because we remain convinced that not all avenues have been exhausted at arbitration on this issue, and because our belief in the dignity of every worker compels us to stand up against employers who unilaterally mandate health procedures as a condition of ongoing employment in the absence of evidence to support their necessity.

With the help of an infectious disease expert, we are challenging the reasonableness of the employer’s two-dose policy and whether they had the legal ability to terminate workers for noncompliance with that policy. The hearing is scheduled to take place before Arbitrator Chauvin across five days between April and August 2023, meaning we can expect to receive a decision in the fall of this year.

The outcome of that decision will then inform how we handle the remaining grievances on this issue that remain in abeyance across the province. We will keep you posted on the progress of the case.

Litigation Strategy Update

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