The President of the Superior Labor Court (“TST”), Maria Cristina Peduzzi, has told the press that employees who unreasonably refuse to take the covid-19 vaccine may be fired for cause. In the Minister’s understanding, the right of the collectivity overrides the individual’s right to choose whether or not to take the immunization.
The aforementioned position was expressed by the Minister in an interview and not in a labor action trial. However, the validity of the dismissal for just cause in the event of an unmotivated refusal to immunize has prevailed in the understanding of the Labor Courts around the country, and the tendency is that it will be validated by the Superior Labor Court, when the cases of this nature get there.
It is not too much to point out that the Federal Supreme Court, when judging actions in which the mandatory vaccination against covid-19 was discussed, decided that the State can determine the mandatory nature of the vaccination, as well as impose restrictions on those who refuse immunization. In addition, the Labor Prosecutor’s Office prepared a Technical Guide on covid-19 vaccination, in which it also established that an employee’s unjustified refusal to be vaccinated may result in his or her dismissal with just cause.
In any case, since dismissal for just cause is the most extreme measure to be applied to employees, it is up to the company to guide and ostensibly clarify its employees about the importance of vaccination and the risks involved, for the employee himself and for the work environment, with the refusal of the immunization.
We clarify that the above text is not exhaustive and does not represent or substitute a specific recommendation based on an analysis of the concrete case.