WestJet has been ordered to reimburse a now-former employee who was "wrongfully terminated" for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic.Justice Also Argento ruled that the airline must pay Calgary-based accountant Duong Yee — who worked for the company for 11 years — $65,587.72 in damages, equivalent to 11 months' wages.According to court documents, Yee was placed on unpaid leave on November 1, 2021, and fired a month later, shortly after the federal government mandated that all employees of transportation providers must be vaccinated or risk losing their jobs. She had attempted to avoid the jab by claiming a religious exemption, but WestJet did not grant it.In his ruling, Argento pointed out that instead of letting Yee go, the company could have allowed her to sidestep the vaccine requirement by working from home.."The regulations only required the defendant's employees who were physically accessing 'aerodrome property' to be vaccinated," he wrote. "They would not have applied to the plaintiff while she continued to work from home. The defendant was aware of the regulations, but did not consider whether the plaintiff could continue working from home as an alternative to dismissal."Argento went on to note that, "the plaintiff's refusal to comply with the vaccination policy did not impact her job performance," nor did it "endanger the defendant's employees or the public as the plaintiff was working from home.""While the plaintiff was wrongfully terminated, the surrounding circumstances do not attract aggravated damages," he concluded. "The dismissal was not conducted in an unduly insensitive or egregious manner. Furthermore, the plaintiff led virtually no evidence explaining how the dismissal impacted her."Claims for moral or aggravated damages were dismissed.
WestJet has been ordered to reimburse a now-former employee who was "wrongfully terminated" for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic.Justice Also Argento ruled that the airline must pay Calgary-based accountant Duong Yee — who worked for the company for 11 years — $65,587.72 in damages, equivalent to 11 months' wages.According to court documents, Yee was placed on unpaid leave on November 1, 2021, and fired a month later, shortly after the federal government mandated that all employees of transportation providers must be vaccinated or risk losing their jobs. She had attempted to avoid the jab by claiming a religious exemption, but WestJet did not grant it.In his ruling, Argento pointed out that instead of letting Yee go, the company could have allowed her to sidestep the vaccine requirement by working from home.."The regulations only required the defendant's employees who were physically accessing 'aerodrome property' to be vaccinated," he wrote. "They would not have applied to the plaintiff while she continued to work from home. The defendant was aware of the regulations, but did not consider whether the plaintiff could continue working from home as an alternative to dismissal."Argento went on to note that, "the plaintiff's refusal to comply with the vaccination policy did not impact her job performance," nor did it "endanger the defendant's employees or the public as the plaintiff was working from home.""While the plaintiff was wrongfully terminated, the surrounding circumstances do not attract aggravated damages," he concluded. "The dismissal was not conducted in an unduly insensitive or egregious manner. Furthermore, the plaintiff led virtually no evidence explaining how the dismissal impacted her."Claims for moral or aggravated damages were dismissed.
