Canada Post’s Suspension of Unvaccinated Remote Workers During Pandemic Was ‘Unreasonable,’ Arbitrator Rules

An arbitrator has revoked a portion of Canada Post’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy for employees, ruling it was “unreasonable” to suspend remote staff without pay for not confirming their vaccination status. The ruling comes in response to the case filed by the Union of Postal Communications Employees (UPCE). The union argued that the stated objective of federal vaccine mandates—to limit the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace—was not served by requiring that remote workers be vaccinated. Arbitrator Michelle Flaherty agreed, saying the practice was “unreasonable” when applied to fully remote employees.  “Canada Post has not established a compelling workplace health and safety interest in mandating vaccines for employees who worked exclusively remotely, where there was no reasonable prospect that in-person work would be required of them,” arbitrator Michelle Flaherty wrote in her May 6 ruling. ...