Dear Editor,
Re: ‘Backpay for unvaxxed unfair,” Letters, April 14.
The stance that Yvonne Williams has taken in the mentioned article is lacking empathy and an understanding of employment law in my opinion.
I’ll start with the most absurd assertion that the workers put on unpaid leave will now look back on their time off as recipients of “paid vacation.”
Last I checked a vacation might include some of the following:
- Travel abroad. Nope, can’t do that without vaccination.
- Rest and relaxation. No again. Ever try relaxing when you’re not sure if you can make your mortgage payments? Can you rest not knowing if you’ll have a job in the future?
- Go out with friends and family. Not going to happen again, as these workers couldn’t experience more than dine-in at a fast food shop.
When it comes to the matter of this ruling being fair, I’m not fully aware of the mediation process, but I can take a good guess that the duty to accommodate was ignored or overlooked in the implementation of the city’s mandate.
No worker I know, given a choice, would choose unpaid leave and an uncertain future over a modified job that would reduce exposure to the public and co-workers. The train of thought that this ruling will result in future disobedience is absurd given the difficult choice these workers had to make at the outset of the mandate.
The letter finishes with a note on upholding principles. These workers signed on to do their job under a contract, a legal agreement that at the time did not include any requirement to comply with future vaccinations. The employer changed the conditions of employment and in the eyes of the employment law, consideration (usually financial) needs to be offered when this happens. I strongly doubt any was offered.
There are many lessons to be learned from this pandemic. It would be a shame for us to pave over all the laws and rules that were designed to protect workers’ rights in the aftermath instead of learn a lesson on how to better implement them while keeping everyone employed.
Steven Matviev
RICHMOND
Editor’s note: The city policy allowed those who had a validated medical exemption to be accommodated.
