Episode #34: Can Your Employer Force You to Take the COVID-19 Vaccine?

Talking Shop Podcast

It looks like we're getting closer to a COVID-19 vaccine, and maybe several of them. Once they're approved and available for widespread distribution, it raises the question of whether employers can demand their employees be vaccinated. There are a number of thorny legal issues around vaccinations and safe workplaces, so Ewan walks us through the possibilities while avoiding the landmines.

Cam then looks back at one of the biggest PR and marketing crises of 2020: the Burger King "Rebel Whopper" fiasco in the United Kingdom. Burger King released a burger targeted at vegans, but grilled alongside all-beef patties. The campaign was questionable to begin with, but Cam explains why Burger King's reaction only made the situation worse.

Then we look at the loneliness epidemic, Momofuku Chef David Chang's hardscrabble upbringing, and the Queen's Gambit.

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Links and Sources

• Burger King adverts banned for claiming 'Rebel Whopper' is suitable for vegans - The Independent
• What we can learn from Burger King's latest PR error - MD Communications

Check This Out

• 'The Queen's Gambit' is actually 'Rocky', so your dad will love it - MSN
• Butter is booming, whole milk is back, and dairy is surviving - TechCrunch
• Vivek Murthy on America's loneliness epidemic - Ezra Klein Show
• Chef David Chang on depression, being a dad, and the burden of 'authenticity' - NPR

Hosts

Ewan Christie is an employment lawyer and partner at Duntrune LLP in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Cam MacMurchy is a corporate communications executive with a multinational technology company listed in Hong Kong and curator of the Digital Bits PR and Communications newsletter. He also contributes to Apple news website 9to5Mac and shares his thoughts on PR, media, travel, and technology on his website.