New Zealand rejects claim that vaccine mandate breaches human rights

Claims by five government workers who said that their human rights have been violated due to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate have been dismissed.
By: | November 10, 2021
Topics: Employment Law | New Zealand | News

A Department of Corrections worker and four district health board workers said their human rights had been breached by the mandate.

At a hearing held by the Employment Relations Authority (ERA), the applicants sought compensation and a finding that the vaccine mandate, in accordance with the COVID-19 Public Health Response Order was unlawful, on the grounds that the Human Rights Act overrides the mandate.

The ERA dismissed the claims, saying it did not have jurisdiction over the lawfulness of the order and the applicants had failed to provide any evidence of unjustified actions.

In the determination, Authority member Rachel Larmer found none of the claims put forward by the applicants could proceed independently of a finding regarding the lawfulness of the order.

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“They are all part of the same underlying claim, in the sense that they are the reasons why the applicants say that the employer’s implementation of the order breaches their rights.” Therefore, the authority concluded it did not have the jurisdiction to consider the issue of the lawfulness of the order and dismissed it.

Larmer also determined the personal grievance claims had not been properly raised by each applicant with their employers, according to Stuff.