The B.C. Court of Appeal has overturned a labor administrator’s ruling that favored Purolator employees who were terminated or suspended for not receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. This decision contradicts a previous court judgment that supported the employees’ claims for lost wages and benefits due to the vaccine mandate.
Represented by Teamsters Local Union No. 31, the employees submitted numerous grievances arguing against the reasonableness of Purolator’s vaccine mandate. The initial ruling by Labour Arbitrator Nicholas Glass deemed the mandate justifiable until June 30, 2022, based on evolving scientific evidence suggesting that vaccination alone might not halt COVID-19 transmission.
However, the recent decision by the provincial court criticized Glass for applying a standard of “correctness” instead of “reasonableness,” ultimately discrediting his award. Justice David Harris highlighted Glass’s independent interpretation of medical research as a flaw that undermined Purolator’s response to the situation.
Following the court’s intervention, a new arbitrator will reassess the grievances filed by the union. Purolator introduced its vaccination mandate as part of a workplace safety policy in September 2021 amidst the escalating pandemic crisis. By January 2022, unvaccinated employees faced unpaid leave or suspension, leading to the union’s mass grievance filings.
Glass’s previous ruling, favoring the employees and ordering compensation, was based on the ineffectiveness of two vaccine doses against the Omicron variant by mid-2022. The Court of Appeal criticized Glass for relying heavily on his interpretation of scientific consensus, leading to an unsatisfactory outcome and holding Purolator to an unfair standard.
The union’s argument for factual conclusions on employer policies was dismissed by the court due to the ongoing mutation of the virus and resulting uncertainty. The focus was on the reasonableness of actions taken in response to the evolving COVID-19 situation, not on proving absolute correctness.
CBC News has reached out to Teamsters Local Union No. 31 and Purolator for their comments on the recent developments.