In the recent case of B.C. Rapid Transit Co. v. Canadian
Union of Public Employees, Local 7000 (Morzhakov Grievance),
[2022] B.C.C.A.A.A. No. 114 (Noonan), Arbitrator Randall Noonan
held that an employer violated an employee's rights under the
B.C. Human Rights Code when it refused to grant a
religious accommodation in relation to its COVID-19 mandatory
vaccination policy.
Facts
The employer implemented its COVID-19 Safety Vaccination Policy
requiring all employees to be fully vaccinated by December 20,
2021, unless they received an accommodation on the basis of a
ground protected under the Human Rights Code.
The grievor was employed as an Asset Integration Monitor. He was
brought up in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and taught that his
body was sacred so he should not smoke or drink or alter his body.
He had never received an injection.
