On July 21st, 2020, Bill 195 Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020, received Royal Assent, effectively ending the provincial declaration of emergency as of July 24th, 2020. As the declared emergency ends, with it are several changes to the Infectious Disease Emergency Leave and the Declared Emergency Leave. Declared Emergency Leave: Employees...
Big changes are coming to Alberta’s Employment Standards Code. In an effort to aid in Alberta’s economic recovery, Bill 32, Restoring Balance in Alberta’s Workplaces Act, 2020, was introduced on July 7th, 2020 and upon Royal Assent, many of the changes will take effect on November 1, 2020. Some changes however would take effect as...
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has once again extended the province’s Emergency Orders until at least July 22nd, 2020. The Orders first started back on March 17th, 2020 and has since been extended numerous times. This means that the deemed Infectious Disease Emergency Leave for those employees previously on layoff has been extended to six weeks...
More jurisdictions across Canada are continuing to extend the length of their temporary layoff periods to avoid those layoffs from becoming permanent and giving rise to termination pay obligations. British Columbia is the next province to (again) extend the length of their temporary layoffs. Last month the province extended the period to 16 weeks, which...
The Federal Government has extended the layoff period temporarily to accommodate employees who have been laid off during the current pandemic. Previously, employers could temporarily lay-off their employees for up to three months if no recall date was provided, or for a period of up to six months if they provided an expected recall date...
The brief run on employer friendly cases seems to have come to an end. The Ontario Court of Appeal just reversed the lower court’s decision in Waksdale v Swegon North America, which previously held that an ‘illegal’ just cause termination provision would not necessarily impact the enforceability of a ‘legal’ without cause provision where the...
After much speculation, Prime Minister Trudeau announced today that the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) will be extended by 8 weeks. Previously the length of the eligibility period for the CERB was 16 weeks, which for many who applied when it first became available will be soon coming to an end. As a reminder, the...
Over the weekend the provincial government passed legislation amending the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the “ESA”) in several fundamental ways. In particular, the changes set out below will apply throughout the “Covid-19 Period”, which is defined as the period from March 1, 2020 to six (6) weeks after Ontario’s emergency order is lifted. Employees...
Prime Minister Trudeau announced today that he will begin talks with the provinces and territories to implement 10 paid sick days a year for workers. It is important to note that the Federal government does not have the authority to pass provincial employment laws, including the obligation to provide paid sick days. To be clear,...
With health and safety at the forefront of everyone’s mind in B.C. as the province starts to reopen, WorkSafeBC is now requiring businesses in B.C. have a Safety Plan outlining each business’s plan to reduce the risk of COVID-19. Below are the points B.C. businesses must consider when developing their plan: Assessing the risk in...