按这个律师的解释，如果雇主提供的工作环境不安全是可以的，如果雇主提供的环境安全则不行。
Can I refuse to go to work because of COVID-19 concerns? Will I be paid?
For those who are required to work but are uncomfortable attending, ask your employer for consent to work from home, or, if that is refused, for an unpaid leave of absence. At a minimum, employers must ensure social distancing, a sanitized workspace, and that no one be permitted to enter the workplace who has returned from another country or been near an infected person for 14 days or displays symptoms of COVID-19.
If the employer does not ensure a safe workplace, an employee can refuse to work and cannot be fired for that. But if the employer insists on your attending work which you view unsafe, you must inform your employer and ask that an Occupational Health and Safety Inspector make a determination.
Given that safety officers are extraordinarily backlogged right now, you will have a long initial period before you could be forced to work. If they attend and rule it is safe but you still refuse to work, you can be dismissed for cause.
Hopefully, employers for moral reasons will permit the employee a leave of absence instead. If they rule it is unsafe, then you need not attend the workplace. At that point, the company laying you off without pay, without providing you the ability to work from home or providing a safe working environment, would be considered a case of constructive dismissal.
Can I refuse to go to work because of COVID-19 concerns? Will I be paid?
For those who are required to work but are uncomfortable attending, ask your employer for consent to work from home, or, if that is refused, for an unpaid leave of absence. At a minimum, employers must ensure social distancing, a sanitized workspace, and that no one be permitted to enter the workplace who has returned from another country or been near an infected person for 14 days or displays symptoms of COVID-19.
If the employer does not ensure a safe workplace, an employee can refuse to work and cannot be fired for that. But if the employer insists on your attending work which you view unsafe, you must inform your employer and ask that an Occupational Health and Safety Inspector make a determination.
Given that safety officers are extraordinarily backlogged right now, you will have a long initial period before you could be forced to work. If they attend and rule it is safe but you still refuse to work, you can be dismissed for cause.
Hopefully, employers for moral reasons will permit the employee a leave of absence instead. If they rule it is unsafe, then you need not attend the workplace. At that point, the company laying you off without pay, without providing you the ability to work from home or providing a safe working environment, would be considered a case of constructive dismissal.
