Page - 485 - in VULNERABLE - The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19

485Occupational Health and Safety and COVID-19: Whose Rights Come First in a Pandemic? Whose rights come first in a pandemic? Without media reports, employers would have the last word, and the public would know noth- ing of current conditions; those reports are in large part dependent on information provided by unions, and it is unions that have taken legal action to access enforcement measures. Professional associations have also made clear statements requiring that their members have access to protective equipment. And then there are the others, more precarious workers whose stories may become public if they die. In reaction to the ONA v. Eatonville court order [paragraph 96], to “provide nurses […] with access to fitted N95 facial respirators and other appropriate PPE when assessed by a nurse at point of care to be appropriate and required,” Eric Tucker asked, “In what world is a court order needed to require employers to provide front line health care workers with the personal protective equipment that they, in their professional judgment, relying on best practices and govern- ment directives, determine is needed to perform their jobs safely?”53 I ask here, in such a world, what rights are needed to protect workers as we head into a period of deconfinement? Public health authorities acknowledge the emerging scientific consensus that people with certain characteristics (including age and various chronic health problems54) are more likely to have serious adverse consequences if they contract COVID-19. If workers refuse to return to their employment because they or their family members are disproportionately vulnerable, it is currently highly uncertain whether they will be legally protected from job loss and economic deprivation. Ensuring their right to refuse to go back, if to do so puts them at seri- ous risk, is a priority.55 It is unlikely that employers will be in a posi- 53. Eric Tucker, ”Court Orders Should Not be Required For Health Care Workers to Get PPEs”, The Star (30 April 2020), online: <https://www.thestar.com/opinion/ contributors/2020/04/30/court-orders-should-not-be-required-for-health-care- workers-to-get-ppes.html>. 54. Institut national de santé publique du Québec, COVID-19:  Recommandations  inté- rimaires pour la protection des travailleurs avec maladies chroniques (Québec: Institut national de santé publique du Québec, 10 May 2020), online: INSPQ <https:// www.inspq.qc.ca/publications/2967-protection-travailleurs-maladies-chro- niques-covid-19>; Institut national d’excellence de santé et en service sociaux, COVID-19  et  personnes  immunosupprimées,  Québec (Québec: Institut national d’excellence de santé et en service sociaux, last visited 26 May 2020), online: INESS <https://www.inesss.qc.ca/covid-19/presentations-cliniques/personnes- immunosupprimees-mise-a-jour-completee-07-05-2020.html>. 55. Janet Cleveland et al, “Il faut protéger les plus vulnérables”, Le Devoir (6 May 2020), online: <https://www.ledevoir.com/opinion/idees/578337/il-faut-proteger- les-plus-vulnerables>.