Employers should insist on vaccination and pay any costs

There’s an issue whether an employer can mandate its employees to be COVID-19 vaccinated, while there is no specific legislation covering this.

COVID-19 is dangerous, not only for the employee’s own health and safety, but in that it may also affect his or her co-workers. I see no difference from mandatory safety shoes, glasses or other safety gear, so “yes” (an employer can insist an employee gets vaccinated).

I can even see insurance companies that provide short- and long-term disability coverage insisting on it, thereby limiting their liability.

It is not an unsafe workplace condition, but one that is externally imported. Even Workers’ Compensation should insist on vaccinations to avoid possible claims.

I am sure that Amazon, after the COVID-19 closure of its Brampton warehouse and the layoff of thousands of workers, will introduce mandatory vaccinations for all its operations. So should call centres, other warehouses and highdensity workplaces.

Our son works for a major courier, mostly making deliveries but sometimes working in the warehouse to sort parcels. There have already been 33 COVID-19 cases. His company has paid him to take a COVID-19 test and to be vaccinated.

That’s the way progressive and responsible employers should act.

Theo Luykenaar, Burlington