Former Sterling Homes Edmonton new homes sales assistant Kayla Rock was terminated for failing to provide her employer with proof of vaccination after she returned from maternity leave. .“My only thoughts were, if I get fired, I will not leave quietly,” said Rock in an interview. .“Therefore, I have chosen to speak up and bring awareness to the ongoing medical segregation that continues to affect so many past, present, and future Qualico employees daily.”.Sterling Homes Edmonton’s parent company Qualico Communities announced in 2021 it would be enacting a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all Canadian employees. At the time of receiving this information, Rock was eight months pregnant with her first child. .The vaccine mandate did not take effect until January, which was during her maternity leave. She called the policy “an extremely late overreaction that crossed the line into medical privacy overreach.”.Since the majority of provincial and federal COVID-19 restrictions had been lifted prior to her return to work date, she said she was hopeful Qualico would follow suit and scrap its vaccine mandate. The company had rescinded its mask mandate a few months ago. .When she reached out to the Qualico human resources department to inquire about the mandate, she was surprised to learn it was not ending the policy, and she faced termination upon returning from maternity leave. She said she did not want to disclose her vaccine status to protect her private medical information. .Rock was fired from her position Oct. 11. She said it was “a slap in the face to be served with a termination letter on my son's first birthday, from a company who claims to care about people.” .The former employee went on to say there will be financial hardships from being fired and a sense of grief from losing a part of her professional identity. She said she has been processing how her vaccine status means more to Qualico than the three and-a-half years she spent working for it. .She has been advocating for people who hear her story to reach out to the company to voice their thoughts and encourage it to rescind its mandate. .“The growing number of people who have been wrongfully terminated, forced to resign, or coerced into compliance, will then take the next steps forward in efforts to hold Qualico accountable for their ongoing medical segregation and shameful discrimination,” she said. .Qualico could not be reached for comment in time for publication.
Former Sterling Homes Edmonton new homes sales assistant Kayla Rock was terminated for failing to provide her employer with proof of vaccination after she returned from maternity leave. .“My only thoughts were, if I get fired, I will not leave quietly,” said Rock in an interview. .“Therefore, I have chosen to speak up and bring awareness to the ongoing medical segregation that continues to affect so many past, present, and future Qualico employees daily.”.Sterling Homes Edmonton’s parent company Qualico Communities announced in 2021 it would be enacting a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all Canadian employees. At the time of receiving this information, Rock was eight months pregnant with her first child. .The vaccine mandate did not take effect until January, which was during her maternity leave. She called the policy “an extremely late overreaction that crossed the line into medical privacy overreach.”.Since the majority of provincial and federal COVID-19 restrictions had been lifted prior to her return to work date, she said she was hopeful Qualico would follow suit and scrap its vaccine mandate. The company had rescinded its mask mandate a few months ago. .When she reached out to the Qualico human resources department to inquire about the mandate, she was surprised to learn it was not ending the policy, and she faced termination upon returning from maternity leave. She said she did not want to disclose her vaccine status to protect her private medical information. .Rock was fired from her position Oct. 11. She said it was “a slap in the face to be served with a termination letter on my son's first birthday, from a company who claims to care about people.” .The former employee went on to say there will be financial hardships from being fired and a sense of grief from losing a part of her professional identity. She said she has been processing how her vaccine status means more to Qualico than the three and-a-half years she spent working for it. .She has been advocating for people who hear her story to reach out to the company to voice their thoughts and encourage it to rescind its mandate. .“The growing number of people who have been wrongfully terminated, forced to resign, or coerced into compliance, will then take the next steps forward in efforts to hold Qualico accountable for their ongoing medical segregation and shameful discrimination,” she said. .Qualico could not be reached for comment in time for publication.
