COVID-19 Workplace Rights FAQs
The following provides general guidance to workers dealing with the potential impacts of COVID-19 on their employment. The information contained below is subject to change as the COVID-19 pandemic progresses. All should appreciate that this is an evolving situation and we will continue to update our clients as matters change. For specific issues, please speak with your union, or your VSLO lawyer.
In B.C., the law requires employees to refuse work if they have “reasonable cause to believe that to do so would create an undue hazard to the health and safety of any person”. However, not all hazards give workers the right to refuse. For a hazard to reach the standard of an “undue hazard”, it must be excessive or unwarranted. Undue hazards are more than a risk.
In worksites governed by federal safety legislation, the law allows employees to refuse work “if the employee while at work has reasonable cause to believe that a condition exists in the place that constitutes a danger to the employee”, except where the refusal “puts the life, health or safety of another person directly in danger” or where the danger “is a normal condition of employment”. The federal legislation also requires more than a risk to support an employee’s work refusal.
Whether it is reasonable for an employee to believe that their worksite creates an undue hazard (in B.C.), or danger (federally), of COVID-19 transmission will depend on the circumstances. If an employee is considering refusing work because of COVID-19, the employee must be prepared to explain to their employer why they believe attending work is an undue hazard or danger. Depending on the circumstances, it may not be enough for an employee to rely on the COVID-19 crisis as the sole reason for refusal.