An Ontario arbitrator has ruled in favour of reinstating nine nurses who were fired for not complying with their hospital’s COVID vaccine mandate,  labeling their dismissal as “unreasonable.” 

The nurses were represented by the Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA).

The decision, authored by James Hayes, criticized the approach taken by Quinte Health, specifically calling out the hospital for firing the nurses for “misconduct.”

The nurses were fired in 2022, except for one who was fired in 2023 after returning from maternity leave. 

Hayes said that unpaid leaves would have been more appropriate, preserving the nurses’ opportunity to return to work under changed circumstances or vaccination status.

“When the Policy was introduced, the Hospital acted reasonably in introducing a mandatory vaccination requirement,” he said.  

However, Hayes determined that: “ What is plain and obvious is that the removal of unvaccinated nurses would have served the same safety objectives as terminations, given the Hospital’s concerns.”

Hayes also noted that, curiously, the issue of booster shots was absent from consideration during the hearings, with no expert testimony sought on their benefits.

“If safety had at that point been the paramount, indispensable (‘first and foremost’) consideration, one might have expected the acquisition of mandatory boosters to have been added as an essential requirement for continued employment.  This did not happen,” he wrote.  

Ruling could set precedent

The ruling stands out as a precedent in arbitration involving unionized staff nurses in Ontario, according to Howard Goldblatt, the lawyer representing the Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA). 

Goldblatt suggested the decision could pave the way for the nurses to rejoin the workforce amidst a critical nursing shortage. 

“I’m hoping that, to the extent that we can get these nurses back into the workplace, the doors will be open and they’ll come back,” he stated.