OTTAWA—Employees in the core federal public sector who have not been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will be put on unpaid leave today, unless they were already granted an accommodation.
The policy could potentially leave more than one thousand workers without pay and unable to access employment insurance benefits.
As of Nov. 3, the vast majority of federal public servants were reported to be fully vaccinated.
Of the roughly 267,000 employees who declared their status, a little over 3,000 have requested some kind of accommodation so they can work without a full slate of vaccines.
Several federal public sector unions have said they plan to file grievances if they feel an employee’s human rights were not respected.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at the outset of the policy that exemptions and accommodations would be difficult to obtain.
