The Legality Of Employers' Mandatory COVID Testing

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has been with us since March 2020, in many cases we are just now starting to see case decisions relating to COVID-19-specific issues like mandatory testing of employees. These decisions are useful for employers who are still grappling with pandemic issues, although we are hopeful that relatively soon they will be issues of the past.

In a recent arbitration decision from Ontario, an arbitrator upheld an employer's policy requiring all staff at a retirement home to be tested for COVID-19 every two weeks. In essence, the employer took an Ontario government recommendation and turned it into in a mandatory requirement. Employees who refused to test were to be placed on a leave of absence until testing was completed. The mandatory testing was part of the home's overall COVID-19 precautions, which also included masking and requiring employees to change their clothes and shoes at the beginning and end of their shifts. It is also important to