As a COVID-19 vaccine is rolling out in the coming months, employers may want to seek legal advice when asking employees if they’re vaccinated, according to Saskatchewan’s information and privacy commissioner (IPC).
“There are certainly some legal issues and there might be collective bargaining issues, but employers need to work through all of that,” Ron Kruzeniski said.
The issues don’t necessarily come from asking for personal health information, but rather taking action based on the findings.
“If somebody didn’t get vaccinated and they were asked to work at home, that might be an issue for the employee,” Kruzeniski explained.
That employee may decide to sue or take legal action, which is why an employer should go through the legalities of rules they may put in place.
“They need to look at collective agreements and figure out if they have proper legal agreements,” Kruzeniski said.
This won’t be the first time a workplace has had to worry about backlash requesting information from employees.
“It happened around the issue of drug testing. We have people that have strong opinions about wearing masks, so that’s an issue. It’s quite possible we have similar issues around vaccinations,” Kruzeniski said.
The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced new regulations in many workplaces, such as asking employees to stay home if they have COVID-19 symptoms or have been in close contact with someone who has contracted the virus.
Kruzeniski said some employers may also ask people to stay home if they aren’t vaccinated.
“There are so many jobs in our society where working at home isn’t an option and that becomes a challenge for an employer,” he said.
He also said certain workplaces, such as hospitals and long care homes, may feel more obligated to ask employees and patrons if they’ve been vaccinated.
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