while health-care workplaces are obvious places for policies, there other workplaces where a policy is advisable, he said. there are scenarios where customers at a business, such as a restaurant, must produce proof of vaccination, but not the employees working there.
employers should have a separate system in place to narrow the potential gap between unvaccinated employees and vaccinated customers, stepanian said.
“it does create a potential for an absurd situation where an an unvaccinated person could, for example, be the gatekeeper.”
policies can be modelled on the provincial government’s proof of vaccination guidelines for the general public or they can draft their own policies. if a new employee is working from home, it is advisable to tell them they will eventually be required to come into an office.
“someone hired during the pandemic will think that working from home is the starting point,” stepanian said.
employers do not want to face human rights complaints, rudner said, but medical and religious exemptions will apply to only a small number of employees.
so far, ontario’s medical exemptions for vaccination against covid-19 are limited to only two conditions: those who have an allergic reaction to a component of a vaccine, which must be confirmed by an allergist or immunologist; and those who have suffered from two kinds of heart inflammation, myocarditis or pericarditis, after receiving their first vaccine.