Nurses win dispute over vaccinate-or-mask policy

Elyse Sunshine was quoted in a Canadian Lawyer story on the recent case of Sault Area Hospital v. Ontario Nurses’ Association, in which an arbitrator held that the hospital's "vaccinate or mask" policy was an unreasonable exercise of management rights and a breach of employee privacy rights.

Elyse commented that “hospitals in Ontario really do have to pay attention to this case and its implications.” She noted that there was a 2013 British Columbia decision which found that a similar policy was a reasonable exercise of management rights. However, “the difference between this case and the B.C. case is the weight placed on the evidence by the arbitrator here. Sometimes, these cases are won or lost on the evidence. Obviously the arbitrator here placed greater weight on the evidence of the Ontario Nurses’ Association. I think hospitals could expect that if their policies are the same as the Sault Area hospital, they will face a similar type of issue and resistance.”

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