Does Workers Comp Cover COVID-19? – Ask The Expert
QUESTION Can a worker who gets COVID-19 at the workplace get workers comp benefits? ANSWER It depends. EXPLANATION Since workers comp covers only work-related injuries and illnesses, workers would have to prove that they contracted […]
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Is “Personal Freedom” Grounds for Not Complying with a Mandatory Vaccination Policy? – Ask The Expert
QUESTION One of our workers is refusing to obey our organization’s mandatory vaccination policy out of “personal principles.” She insists that the vaccine is unsafe and is threatening to sue us […]
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Stay home or work sick? Omicron poses a conundrum in U.S.
As the raging omicron variant of COVID-19 infects workers across the nation, millions of those whose jobs don’t provide paid sick days are having to choose between their health and their paycheck. While […]
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NEW Court Says It Has No Authority to Block RCMP Mandatory Vaccination Policy
Officers who don’t want to get vaccinated are suing the RCMP contending that its mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy violates their constitutional rights. They’ve asked for an interim injunction, i.e., order […]
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Employers Claim Early Edge in Litigation Battle Over Mandatory Vaccination
Union legal challenges to mandatory vaccination policies have failed in 3 of 4 cases. Are mandatory vaccination policies legally enforceable? Since the vaccination rollout began, human rights commissions across Canada have […]
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What Should You Do If Employees Exhibit Symptoms of COVID-19? – Quiz
Send employees with COVID-19 symptoms home, regardless of their vaccination status. There’s been some confusion about what employers should do when one of their employees exhibits symptoms of COVID-19. The last […]
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Vaccinate or Test COVID-19 Policy: Arbitrator Hints Termination For Cause Could Be Upheld
Almost a year ago, we wrote an article about whether a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy could be enforced at arbitration. The answer was the classic (and frustrating) it depends. When we wrote […]
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How to Complete ROE for Employees Fired for Refusing Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination
Vaccine refusers may not qualify for EI benefits. Many of the employees across Canada who have chosen to give up their jobs rather than comply with their company’s mandatory vaccination policy […]
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What to Do When an Employee Defies Your Mandatory Vaccination Policy
Find out why the employee is refusing before deciding what to do. Before the pandemic, mandatory vaccination policies were rare and limited to sensitive sectors like health care and travel. But […]
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To What Extent are Employees Barred From Pursuing Stress Claims in Court?
Recorded Date: November 18, 2021 Time: 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM PST Speaker: Ryan Conlin Recording: To access the recording of this webinar, please go here. Historically, workers’ compensation law placed a highly restrictive definition […]
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Worker’s Deliberate Refusal to Wash Hands Is Worthy of a 4-Month Suspension
A longshore worker passed by a wash station without stopping to wash his hands. When his supervisor ordered him to go back to the wash station, he refused and was […]
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Failure to Cooperate Dooms Employee’s Face Mask Work Refusal
An aircraft engineer sought a medical exemption from the company’s mandatory 3-ply face mask policy and asked permission to wear a face shield instead. The company denied the request on […]
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Applying Game Theory Principles in the Management of Employee Absences
Recorded Date: August 25, 2021 Time: 9:00 AM PDT Speaker: Patricia J. Forte Click Here with discount code "HRIVIP21" to watch this recording for free Managing employee attendance can be the bane of the […]
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Shift Cut Is Retaliation for COVID Work Refusal
A security guard refused to work dayshifts at a downtown office building during the December COVID outbreak. He preferred to work at night when there’d be fewer people and he’d […]
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Worker Got Fired After, Not Because She Complained of Safety
The Alberta OHS reprisal law is a bit confusing. It bans employers from taking “discriminatory action,” defined as including termination, against workers because they exercise their OHS rights. In other […]
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Nurse’s N95 OHS Work Refusal Claim Deserves a Hearing
A registered nurse refused to perform COVID-19 swab testing on patients without an N95 particulate filter respirator. The employer contended that it was following public health guidelines, noting that it […]
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Mandatory Vaccinations For Employees: What Are The Issues?
While Canada is still in the early stages of its COVID-19 vaccine rollout, given the limited availability and potential interruptions in vaccine supply, many employers are already turning their minds […]
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The 7 Most Immediate HR Compliance Challenges of 2021
During the COVID crisis, legal slip-ups can get your business shut down. As the misery of 2020 winds down, HR directors need to start looking ahead to 2021. Of course, complying […]
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Return To Work: Managing Employee Reluctance And Refusals
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a time of great uncertainty for both employers and employees. Change has been the only constant. When we previously published an article on February 25, 2020 about […]
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Refusal of Unsafe Work: Lessons Learned From SARS
As British Columbia moves from Phase 2 into Phase 3 of its Restart Plan, employees will increasingly be asked to return to work and resume work as before – subject […]
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Refusing Recall to Work Due to COVID-19 Concerns
As workplaces begin to re-open under the government of Saskatchewan's Five Phase Re-Open Saskatchewan Plan, one common inquiry is whether an employee can refuse to return to work following a […]
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May Employees Refuse to Return to the Post-COVID-19 Workplace?
SITUATION After weeks of operating remotely, non-essential business Baktu Works (BW) is thrilled to re-open its doors and recall its employees from temporary layoff. But it soon becomes clear that at […]
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Return to Work from COVID-19 Shutdown: OHS Best Practices
Date: May 14, 2020 Time: 9 a.m. PDT / 12 p.m. EDT Presenter: Norm Keith About the Webinar The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in wartime powers being used by government across Canada to shut […]
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Canada Return to Work Resources
Federal Government of Canada’s response to COVID-19 Risk-informed decision-making guidelines for workplaces and businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Summary of assumptions Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Prevention and risks […]
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Waiver of COVID-19 Liability
Notice to all entrants and users if these facilities EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY - ASSUMPTION OF RISK. These conditions will affect your legal rights including the right to sue or claim […]
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A COVID-19 Re-Opening Compliance Checklist
Be Smart And Safe About Reopening Your Small Business In A Post-Coronavirus World When you will be able to reopen, of course, depends on a variety of factors: your locale's rules; […]
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Name the Key Components Related to a Worker Refusing to Work?
Name the Key Components Related to a Worker Refusing to Work? Unsafe work or equipment; sincere fear; training and experience. Valid reason; work refusal; sincere fear. Undue hazard or danger; […]
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Can a Physician Refuse to Work During COVID-19?
As media sources detail a supply shortage among COVID-19 first responders, physicians are questioning where the line is drawn between their right to refuse unsafe work and their duty to […]
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Right to Refuse Form
THE PROBLEM: Workers have the right to refuse work if they have reasonable grounds to believe the work poses an undue or unnatural hazard to themselves or others. Properly handling a […]
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