Laurence v Vermilion & District Housing Foundation
| Alberta Provincial Court
In this case, we successfully applied for the summary dismissal of a Plaintiff’s wrongful dismissal claim against her former employer. In this case, the employer was a contracted service provider for Alberta Health Services. The employer was instructed to implement a mandatory vaccination policy in 2021 as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Plaintiff refused to comply with the policy and was placed on an unpaid leave of absence for three months before being terminated for just cause. At the summary dismissal application, we argued that employers have the right to introduce and enforce reasonable policies. Justice J. Morrison accepted our argument, finding that the employer’s choice to introduce a mandatory vaccination policy was a reasonable decision in the extraordinary circumstances that existed at the time. The employer was entitled to discipline and discharge the Plaintiff for failing to comply with the policy. Justice Morrison also found that even if the employer did not have just cause to terminate the Plaintiff, the employment relationship had been frustrated. As the employer was a contracted service provider for Alberta Health Services, it had no choice but to implement the policy. The application was granted and the Plaintiff’s claim was dismissed.