Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. I am a Public Interest Advocate. I have extensive training and advocacy experience supporting workers in exercising their workplace rights.
Legal consultation: Due to the serious issue related to these COVID-19 vaccines, please consider seeking legal consultation with an employment lawyer who can hear the specific details of your work situation and give you legal advice about what you can do in your unique situation.
Access Pro Bono BC: You can apply for a FREE brief legal consultation at the link below in BC.
Link: https://www.accessprobono.ca/
Pro Bono Canada: You can find other FREE legal resources in Canada at the link below.
Link: https://probonocanada.org/
Introduction
The pace at which employers in different sectors are making experimental COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for workers has dramatically picked up. This is leaving many workers shaken, fearful, and concerned about their health, safety, and well-being at work. In this article, I'm providing some resources people can use to inform themselves, their employers and unions regarding the vaccines.
This is what is presented in this article:
■ An introduction of relevant sections of the Workers Compensation Act and Occupational Health and Safety Regulation which are administered by WorkSafeBC
■ WorkSafeBC's COVID-19 Vaccine Adverse health reactions/vaccine injury claims and what is required for workers to file workplace injury claims
■ What To Do If Your Employer is Telling You that COVID-19 Vaccines Are Mandatory
■ Links to legal Notice of Liabilities you can give to employers who are coercing, or mandating workers to get vaccines
■ A link to an article about Informed Consent questions you should ask your employer BEFORE you get a COVID-19 vaccine
■ Questions to ask your Extended Health and Life Insurance policy holders
■ Documentation of Employment Matters Related to Vaccines
■ Canadian COVID-19 Vaccine Adverse Health Reaction Statistics to July 30th, 2021
■ Video: Your Rights to Decline a Vaccine in the Context of Employment
Workplace Safety in BC: Workers Compensation Act and WorkSafeBC
The Workers Compensation Act is the law in B.C. that employers, workers, and supervisors who manage on behalf of employers, must be compliant with in workplace settings.
The Full Act can be found here:
Link: https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/19001_00
Legal responsibilities and obligations of employers, supervisors and workers
Sec. 21, 22 & 23 outline legal responsibilities and obligations of employers, supervisors and workers.
Link: https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/19001_02#division_d1e2782
Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committees (JOHS)- Employers with over 20 employees at a location are legally required to have a JOHS, which has worker and employer representatives on it.
- Workplace injuries and accidents are reportable to JOHS's. They are legally required to investigate these reports, issue reports and recommendations based on the findings of the workplace investigations.
- If employers are requiring workers to get vaccinated, and the worker experiences Adverse health reactions, injuries, and/or death from the COVID-19 vaccine these should be considered reportable workplace incidents and injuries.
- These workplace injuries should also be reported by the worker and the employer to WorkSafeBC. This should be done regardless of whether workers file workplace injury claims for compensation with WorkSafeBC.
Occupational Health and Safety Regulation ("OHS Regulation")
- The Occupational Health and Safety Regulation ("OHS Regulation) is the regulatory framework that employers and workers must also follow to ensure workplaces are as safe as possible for everyone.
- The purpose of the Regulation is to promote occupational health and safety and to protect workers and other persons present at workplaces from work-related risks to their health, safety, and well-being.
- Compliance with the requirements provides the basis on which workers and employers, in cooperation, can solve workplace health and safety problems.
Canadian COVID-19 Vaccine Adverse Health Reaction Statistics to July 30th, 2021
Source: Government of Canada. COVID-19 vaccine
safety: Weekly report on side effects following COVID-19 vaccination in Canada,
up to July 30, 2021. https://health-infobase.canada.ca/covid-19/vaccine-safety/.
COVID-19 Vaccine Page on WorkSafeBC Website
If you scroll down the page, the following sections are important for workers, employers, and supervisors to understand BEFORE workers get vaccines.
Link: https://www.worksafebc.com/en/covid-19/vaccination-and-the-workplace
Claims and COVID-19 vaccination
- When could an adverse reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine be work-related?
1. Whether the COVID-19 vaccination was a mandatory requirement of employment.
2. If the worker sustained an injury (or death) as a result of the COVID-19 vaccination.
What To Do If Your Employer is Telling You that COVID-19 Vaccines Are Mandatory
➤ Consult an employment lawyer to find out what your legal rights are.
➤ Speak with your Union (if you have one) to find out what your legal rights are.
➤ Speak with your Family Doctor/GP about getting a medical exemption letter if you don't believe it is safe, or healthy for you to get the vaccine.
➤ Contact this organization to set up an appointment to get a Letter of Exemption for Masks and Vaccines for a FEE. Link: https://enableair.com/form
➤ If you don't agree with this, begin to look for another job ASAP. Any employer, industry, or sector that would mandate vaccines must be seen as one to be avoided. They are toxic bullies, and unsafe employers. Once they implement these kinds of mandates there is no stopping what other kinds of harmful and unsafe actions they will take toward workers.
➤ If you work in an industry that vaccines are being mandated in, such as Long-term care and Assisted Living, consider making a career change if you don't agree with this, or determine if you can live with the employers' requirements for not getting the vaccine. Ie. wearing a mask, or other PPE while on shift.
➤ If you are experiencing serious mental or physical health issues regarding the stress and anxiety related to your employer's demands and forced vaccinations, consider going on a medical (stress) leave and speak with your doctor about this if you have Short-term disability benefits and request they to complete the required paperwork.
➤ Apply for EI Sickness Benefits. Speak with your doctor about this and request they complete the required medical EI form.
Link: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/ei-sickness.html
Apply here & find out what documents you need:
Link: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/ei-sickness/apply.html
➤ Joint Occupational Health and Safety committee: Bring the issue of mandatory vaccination and Adverse health reactions/injuries forward to your JOHS committee at work. Request they send out a communication to ALL workers in the organization so workers are informed about:
1. What to do if they cannot get the vaccines due to specific health and safety issues and what accommodations the employer has set up to manage these situations.
2. How and where to report vaccine-related Adverse health reactions and injuries to the employer.
3. The names and contact information of worker representatives on the JOHS committee and shop stewards that workers can speak with about vaccines and vaccine-related Adverse health reactions and injuries.
4. How to report vaccine-related Adverse health reactions and injuries to WorkSafeBC as workplace injuries.
5. The best ways to document Adverse health reactions injuries for injury reports and WorkSafeBC claims.
➤ Consider letting your employer terminate your employment for exercising your LEGAL right to Informed Consent by delaying, or not getting a COVID-19 vaccine. Seek legal consultation whether you would be able to sue for Termination Without Cause, or other reasons. You may also be eligible for Employment Insurance (EI) if you are terminated for this reason.
➤ Consider issuing a Notice of Liability (NOL) to your employer for forcing experimental vaccines on you as a condition of employment.
Take Action Canada: https://takeactioncanada.ca/know-your-vaccine-rights-get-letters-of-informed-consent/
Action4Canada: https://action4canada.com/employee-vaccine-notice-of-liability/
Documentation of Employment Matters Related to Vaccines
■ If you were going to have to take legal action, or file a grievance, or WorkSafeBC claim related to work-related Adverse health reaction/injuries from vaccines, you will need documentation to support your case/claim.
■ If you do a legal consultation, make sure to ask what documents you should collect and store if they were going to be needed in the future.
■ Document and get everything in writing regarding mandatory vaccines, or employer's policies on vaccines, especially if they are mandating them.
■ Save all employer emails, memos and communications about vaccine policies at home.
■ Ask questions via email and keep copies at home in a secure place.
■ Keep copies of all medical exemption and accommodation paperwork and Adverse health reaction/injury medical documents at home in a secure place.
■ Collect employer employment policies and employment hiring letters and other documentation at home in a secure place.
Extended Health Insurance Coverage Consultation
■ BEFORE you get a COVID-19 vaccine, call and speak with (and record the conversation) a representative for your Extended Health, and/or Private Insurance policy and plan to determine the following:
- Will Short-term or Long-term disability coverage be provided if I experience a work-related COVID-19 vaccine injury?
- Will life insurance be paid out to my loved ones/estate if I were to die from complications related to the COVID-19 vaccine injury/Adverse Health reactions?
- Is there anything else I need to know about how my/my employer's specific extended health and insurance policy works regarding COVID-19 vaccines?
Informed Consent within the Context of COVID-19 Vaccines
■ The article below contains a series of questions that workers can send to their employers to ensure that they are fully aware of how employers will handle the situation if workers get the vaccines that their employers are requesting, or requiring they get. Put these into an email and keep copies of all responses and engagement with the employer at home.
■ If you experience a vaccine injury, or serious Adverse Health reactions and cannot work, are temporarily, or permanently disabled, or die, you need to know what financial and other support will be there from your employer BEFORE you get the vaccine. If you have dependents, you also need to know what would happen to them if you were no longer there to support them financially.
Video: Your Rights to Decline a Vaccine in the Context of Employment
Constitutional Rights Centre. Youtube. Retrieved from:
