It was a sight that’s become all too familiar — an employee speaking out about a controversial issue on social media.

But this time it involved a police officer, in uniform, speaking out against vaccine mandates. And it didn’t go over well with his employer, which is now investigating.

“There has been an explosion of people on the internet, sharing their opinions about all sorts of things about lockdowns, about masking rules — you name it, people are tweeting about it,” says David Fraser, partner at McInnes Cooper in Halifax.

“I'm not surprised that, in a number of instances, that is going to cross over into the employment context, or raise issues with employers, particularly as people might be getting mousey about particular employer policies.”

‘Rights being taken away’

Filming himself in uniform, Calgary police officer Brian Denison complains about having to get the “miracle jab” or losing his job.

“This is the beginning of your rights being taken away,” he says.

“It’s very reminiscent of many years ago during the World War [II] that [Adolf] Hitler was perpetrating against the Jews; he slowly but surely took away the rights, the privileges, all that stuff that people find worthwhile in life; he stripped it away from them and then he was able to demonize them enough that all the Germany people were onboard to exterminate them because they were nothing."

Denison calls the vaccine mandate “illegal activity” and says he’s upholding the law and not allowing himself to “take...

Read Full Story: https://www.hrreporter.com/employment-law/news/how-should-employers-handle-an...