Late in the day on Friday, May 29th, the Ontario Government quietly released a new regulation made pursuant to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the “ESA”). Statutory regulations are not normally the stuff of excitement, even for lawyers. Yet this particular regulation, O. Reg. 228/20, Infectious Disease Emergency Leave (the “Regulation”), merits special consideration.

COVID-19 seemingly came from nowhere and fundamentally altered our lives. It has brought challenges to many Ontario workplaces, exposing deficiencies in employment agreements and emphasizing the need for strategic planning and preparedness.

Please note: the situation with COVID-19 is continuing to rapidly develop. In the coming days and weeks, it is likely that both levels of government may introduce additional measures/legislation that could impact employee rights/obligations. We will look to update this page accordingly. If, however, you have specific questions about your workplace entitlements, please contact an employment lawyer directly.

For the past two months, the attention of the world has been fixed on Wuhan, China, as the epicentre of a new respiratory virus. The 2019 Novel Coronavirus (or 2019-nCoV) has been declared a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern” by the World Health Organization and as of February 8, 2020, there have been eight (8) confirmed cases in Canada.