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August 12, 2020

Can an employee refuse to work because of fear of exposure to COVID-19?

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  5. Can an employee refuse to work because of fear of exposure to COVID-19?

Under occupational health and safety legislation across Canada, most employees have the right to refuse work if a condition of the workplace “is likely to endanger” their health or safety. Certain employees are exempt and cannot use the right-to-refuse work mechanism because of the nature of their employment (e.g., police officers, firefighters, correctional officers, paramedics and hospital workers)

Employees encountering a disease outbreak in the workplace (or who fear that they may encounter it) may seek to exercise their right to refuse work in this regard. In some cases, an employee may wish to refuse a travel assignment to the epicentre of an outbreak or other high-risk places. For example, a flight attendant could use their right to refuse dangerous work on flights to the epicentre.

Employers have to assess the right to refuse work situation carefully on a case-by-case basis and follow the right-to-refuse work processes already established in law. In addition, employers cannot threaten to discipline an employee exercising a work refusal.

When faced with a work refusal, the employer should immediately investigate the reason for the work refusal in the presence of a health and safety representative or joint health and safety committee member, consider this right to refuse work and, if appropriate, adopting measures to eliminate or reduce the workplace danger. This investigation will, in large part, be based upon the current scientific understanding of COVID-19 and the specific facts in the individual workplace. Failing resolution with the employee, the employer must notify a Ministry of Labour inspector who will come to the workplace and assess the situation and render a decision.

A worker who exercises a right of refusal must still be paid until the situation is resolved with the employer or the Ministry of Labour.

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Article by firstreference

Note: This page provided by First Reference is for employers needing more information on the impact, rules and best practices for addressing the global novel coronavirus pandemic also known as COVID-19. (Last updated July 20, 2020, at 11:55 p.m.). The first batch of questions discusses the broad issues related to COVID-19 and government responses. The second batch of questions are frequently asked questions by employers needing more information on the impact COVID-19 has on the application of their workplace practices and policies for addressing the global coronavirus pandemic.

The circumstances and potential consequences for employers in connection with COVID-19 continue to evolve each day. We recognize that change resulting from COVID-19 is happening in real-time. We will keep you up-to-date with measures put in place by Canadian governments to help with these issues as they are implemented as soon as we can and details are available, by updating this page. Also, when making hard decisions to protect your employees, customers and your business, we strongly recommend seeking the advice of a lawyer to avoid any liability.

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