A Guide for Employers during COVID-19 This Guide sets out the key employment law issues to consider, as well as the government's financial relief options to explore to get through this deep economic crisis. (Last Updated August 11, 2021) Further free resources can be found here. Should you need legal advice on how to manage your workplace during the COVID-19 outbreak, please get in touch.
A Guide for Employers during COVID-19 This Guide sets out the key employment law issues to consider, as well as the government's financial relief options to explore to get through this deep economic crisis. (Last Updated July 16, 2021) Further free resources can be found here. Should you need legal advice on how to manage your workplace during the COVID-19 outbreak, please get in touch.
Photo by Melody Ayres-Griffiths on Unsplash
The Ontario Superior Court has ruled once again on the right of an employee to assert a constructive dismissal in light of the O. Reg. 228/20: Infectious Disease Emergency Leave (“the Regulation”) under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA). In the latest decision, the court ruled that the Regulation does not preclude an employee from asserting a common law constructive dismissal.
As discussed in previous posts, under the Regulation neither a reduction in the employees hours of work or wages constitute a constructive dismissal under the ESA if they occur during the COVID-19 Period. The COVID-19 Period keeps changing on us, but it currently runs from March 1, 2020 to September 25, 2021. There have been conflicting decisions about whether the Regulation also removes an employee’s right to assert a constructive dismissal under the common law.
A Guide for Employers during COVID-19 This Guide sets out the key employment law issues to consider, as well as the government's financial relief options to explore to get through this deep economic crisis. (Last Updated June 28, 2021) Further free resources can be found here. Should you need legal advice on how to manage your workplace during the COVID-19 outbreak, please get in touch.
Last month we blogged about the Ontario Superior Court’s decision in Coutinho v. Ocular Health Centre Ltd. (Coutinho) when the court ruled that an employee placed on Ontario’s Infectious Disease Emergency Leave (IDEL), established by O.Reg 228/20 (the Regulation), could still bring an action for constructive dismissal at common law. The plot has thickened with the release this month of a contradictory decision in Taylor v. Hanley Hospitality Inc. (Taylor).
In the Taylor decision, the court considered the same issue – is the employee precluded by the Regulation from bringing a claim for constructive dismissal under the common law, when their hours are reduced or eliminated as a result of the pandemic? While the court in Coutinho concluded no, the court in Taylor has concluded yes.
Where does that leave us? Because these two decisions are from the same level of court, neither has more weight than the other for later judges who might be deciding cases on similar facts. When decisions of the same level conflict, we need a higher court to weigh in – in this case, that would be the Ontario Court of Appeal.
The COVID-19 Period in Ontario’s Infectious Disease Emergency Leave has been extended until September 25, 2021. Prior to this change, the COVID-19 Period was set to end on July 3, 2021. What does the end of the COVID-19 Period mean? The end of the COVID-19 Period is relevant to employers who reduced the hours of their employees due to COVID-19 reasons. In many cases, these employees were “laid off,” meaning they work no hours at…
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