Federal Tribunal Reinstates EI for Worker Fired for Refusing COVID Shots
A federal tribunal has ruled in favour of a Toronto man who was denied his Employment Insurance (EI) benefits after losing his job for not getting vaccinated for COVID-19.
In a decision released on Sept. 12, the Social Security Tribunal of Canada reversed the denial of EI benefits to Timothy Conlon, a delivery driver who was fired last July for refusing his employer’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirement.
Upon his termination, Conlon applied for EI but was denied by the Canada Employment Insurance Commission (CEIC), claiming that he was not eligible for the benefits despite paying into them for years.
In her decision, tribunal member Solage Losier said that although the CEIC had ruled Conlon was not entitled to receive EI benefits “due to his own misconduct,” the Commission did not prove their claims that misconduct had taken place….