On May 25, 2021, British Columbia released a four-step COVID-19 reopening plan, Restart: A plan to bring us back together. To move through the steps, British Columbia looks for...more
6/4/2021
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
Public Gatherings ,
Public Health ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Social Distancing ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Ontario recently enacted Bill 284, COVID-19 Putting Workers First Act, 2021, which amended the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) to require employers to provide employees up to three days’ pay if they miss work for certain...more
6/4/2021
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Rights ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Regulations ,
Ontario ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Reimbursements ,
Sick Leave ,
Sick Pay ,
Wage and Hour
On May 25, 2021, Alberta released its Open for Summer Plan (Opening Plan), which eases COVID-19 restrictions in three stages. Each stage is reached as COVID-19 vaccination targets are reached and hospitalizations decline. ...more
6/4/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
Non-Essential Businesses ,
Public Gatherings ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Workplace Safety
On May 20, 2021, Ontario released its long-awaited Roadmap to Reopen (Roadmap), a three-step plan to safely and gradually reopen the province and loosen certain public health restrictions. ...more
On May 11, 2021, British Columbia (BC) announced that it had introduced Bill 13, Employment Standards Amendment Act (No. 2), 2021 (Bill 13) for first reading. Bill 13 received Royal Assent on May 20, 2021. Bill 13 amends the...more
On April 28, 2021, Ontario announced in a News Release that it will soon introduce legislation that, if passed, would require employers to pay employees up to $200 per day for up to three days if they miss work for reasons...more
On April 16, 2021, Ontario announced a two-week extension of its third declaration of emergency and its second Stay-at-Home order, and that in response to the rapid increase of COVID-19 case rates and pressure on the health...more
On April 20, 2021, the Medical Officer of Health in the Peel Public Health Region (Peel) announced that an Order would be issued directing businesses with five or more cases of COVID-19 in the previous 14 days to close for 10...more
In Currie v. Nylene Canada Inc., 2021 ONSC 1922, Ontario’s Superior Court held that “exceptional circumstances” existed to justify making an award that exceeded the 24-month “high end” amount of reasonable notice for...more
In response to the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases, concerns over hospital intensive care unit capacity, and the increasing risk to the public caused by COVID-19 variants, on April 7, 2021, Ontario announced the declaration...more
4/9/2021
/ Business Closures ,
Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Government Lockdown ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Non-Essential Businesses ,
Ontario ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Shelter-In-Place
In Sharma v. Toronto (City), 2020 HRTO 949, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) provides a roadmap for how employers should determine whether they are required to accommodate employees and customers who seek...more
4/8/2021
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Exemptions ,
Health and Safety ,
Human Rights Code ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Masks ,
Ontario ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Workplace Safety
With COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations rising in Ontario at a concerning pace due to the rapid transmission of new variants, on April 1, 2021, the province filed Ontario Regulation 240/21 under the Reopening Ontario (A...more
In Czerniawski v. Corma Inc., 2021 ONSC 1514, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice concluded that a long-term employee’s misconduct did not justify dismissal for cause without notice. The court awarded 19 months’ common law...more
In a News Release dated March 17, 2021, Ontario announced it was removing regulatory restrictions to make it easier for organizations to conduct on-site COVID-19 testing in the workplace. Asymptomatic employees can now...more
With increasing concerns over COVID-19 variants and the recent acceleration of the COVID-19 vaccination rollout to Ontario’s public, Ontario Premier Doug Ford was recently asked if the Government of Ontario would consider...more
The Ontario Court of Appeal’s (OCA) recent decision in Abbasbayli v. Fiera Foods Company, 2021 ONCA 95 (Fiera Foods) reminds corporate directors that: (a) an employee may be able to make a claim against them in a wrongful...more
A recent Ontario Superior Court of Justice decision indicates that it is challenging for employers to obtain an interim injunction requiring an employee to remove allegedly defamatory social media posts pending resolution of...more
3/2/2021
/ Black Lives Matter ,
Canada ,
Defamation ,
Employment Litigation ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Injunctive Relief ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Race Relations ,
Social Media
Posting: Employment Standards Act, 2000 -
The poster is prepared by the Minister of Labour to help ensure employers understand their minimum obligations and employees know their rights.
...more
In a recent decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Iriotakis v. Peninsula Employment Services Limited, 2021 ONSC 998 (Peninsula Employment), the court considered factors unique to the COVID-19 pandemic in...more
On February 8, 2021, Ontario issued a news release announcing that it would be moving to a regional approach regarding its COVID-19 response. Most regions are maintaining the province’s shutdown, stay-at home order, and...more
In its January 2021 newsletter, What’s New, Ontario’s Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development provides new and updated guidance for businesses that are required to have a written safety plan, including all...more
In McGuinty v. 1845035 Ontario Inc. (McGuinty Funeral Home), 2020 ONCA 816 (McGuinty), the Court of Appeal for Ontario upheld the Ontario Superior Court’s decision to award an employee one of the highest damage awards ever...more
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) recently issued a decision expanding the duty of honest performance, which applies to parties to all contracts, by holding that they cannot knowingly deceive one another about matters...more
On January 12, 2021, the Office of the Premier of Ontario announced that in response to modelling data showing the province is in a COVID-19 crisis and its hospitals’ Intensive Care Units will be overwhelmed in a few weeks, a...more
On January 4, 2021, Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health issued Toronto Public Health Instructions for Workplaces (Instructions), addressed to “All Employers and Persons Responsible for a Business or Organization in the City...more
1/11/2021
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Sick Employees ,
Workplace Safety