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New COVID-19 health and safety compliance obligations
Photo by Graham Ruttan on Unsplash

The recent spike in COVID-19 cases has resulted in the Ontario government amending regulation  O. Reg 364/20: Rules for Areas in Stage 3, under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020 (“the Regulation”). The new amendment took effect on Saturday, September 26, 2020, and imposes on employers new health and safety compliance obligations related to COVID-19, specifically employee screening, or as the Regulation puts it:

“The person responsible for a business or organization that is open shall operate the business or organization in compliance with the advice, recommendations and instructions issued by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health on screening individuals.”
Continue Reading New Mandatory Employer Obligation – Ongoing COVID-19 Workplace Screening

Considerations for employers recalling employees to work
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Employers are encountering issues as they ask their employees to come back to work. We will take a look at some of these in today’s blog. 

A Recap 

Many employees were placed on layoffs in March 2020, when the shutdowns occurred. In Ontario, these layoffs were then converted into deemed Infectious Disease Emergency Leaves. While statutory layoff timelines normally restrict the amount of time an employee can be on a layoff before being considered terminated, in Ontario the Infectious Disease Emergencies Leave amendments to the Employment Standards Act changed this. Ontario employees can now be involuntarily off work (laid off) until January 2, 2020, without having a  termination triggered. 

A layoff does not end the employment relationship. It’s just a temporary pause, which anticipates that the employer will bring the employee back to work or recall them. 
Continue Reading Recalling Employees to Work: Considerations for Employers

accommodating employees keeping kids home
Photo by Thomas Park on Unsplash

When is fear of Covid-19 justification for keeping kids home from school and to what extent does an employer have to accommodate the employee’s preference? While we’ve discussed this and similar issues on the blog in the past few weeks, a recent family court decision sheds some light on how courts might treat this issue.

Disagreement About Going to School

In Chase v. Chase, a divorced mother and father disagreed about whether their son should attend school in-person or do online learning. No one in either household had an underlying medical condition which would make them more vulnerable to complications from Covid-19. 
Continue Reading A Judge Decides About Going to School: Guidance for Employers

Limitation periods and other procedural time periods will resume Sept.14
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If you are involved in litigation in Ontario, you are likely aware that Ontario suspended its limitation periods and procedural deadlines on March 16, 2020. The suspension order was made under O. Reg. 73/20.

As of Monday, September 14, 2020, the suspension order will be lifted and all limitation periods and other procedural time periods will resume. This change is made in accordance with Ontario’s gradual reopening, under O. Reg. 457/20 made under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020.

How does this affect your matter?
Continue Reading Procedural Timelines and Limitation Periods are Back!

On July 30, 2020, we sent out a note to our clients and readers alerting you all that because the state of emergency in Ontario ended on July 24, 2020, the deemed Infectious Disease Emergency Leaves (“IDEL”) would be ending on September 4, 2020. On September 3, 2020, the Ontario government made another change. The deemed IDEL has now been extended until January 2, 2021. You can check out the Ontario government’s news release and get further details in the Ministry of Labour’s Guide.

So, the clock has been reset once again.

Does This Apply to Me?
Continue Reading ONCE AGAIN Attention Employers with Employees on the IDEL! Deemed IDEL Now Extended to January 2, 2021!

A Guide for Employers during COVID-19A 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 27, 2020).

Further free resources can be found here.

Should you need legal advice on how to manage…

workplace law advice for employers
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In these challenging times, in the midst of the pandemic, as workplaces re-open, pivot and change, we see the importance and immense value of having strategic employment and workplace law advice. Just a small allocation of thought space and time to being proactive could have changed the outcome of so many situations. We see it now in our firm in many ways. 

Having run a small business for over a decade, I can appreciate that employers are often triaging the urgent demand of finding solutions to client’s needs. Rarely did I have the time or opportunity to “smell the roses” let alone try to proactively anticipate the workplace law needs of my growing organization. However, I now see the critical importance of taking a proactive approach.
Continue Reading Workplace Law: It Pays To Be Proactive

employers options as schools re-open
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In some form or another, it’s looking like in-person learning will be going ahead this school year but that parents can keep their children home if they wish. In many cases, employers whose operations have been remote for the past several months are looking to bring employees back to the office. What if an employee doesn’t want to send their child back to school and subsequently insists that they cannot, therefore, come back into the office to work? What are an employer’s options?
Continue Reading School Re-Opening and Issues for Employers

Many restrictive convenants in agreements unenforceable
Image by Edar from Pixabay

We get a lot of questions from employers and employees about restrictive covenants. Many employment contracts include a restrictive covenant – a contractual clause that seeks to limit an employee’s ability to solicit the employer’s clients and/or employees and/or to compete for those same clients in the same geographical area once the employee leaves the employer.

Courts generally find restrictive covenants in employment agreements unenforceable, unless they are reasonable between the parties and not adverse to the public interest. Typically, if a restrictive covenant is ambiguous with regards to time, activity or geography, it will not be enforceable. Let’s take a look at non-solicit agreements.
Continue Reading Non-Solicit Provisions in Employment Contracts – What You Need to Know

The federal government has passed Bill C-20, An Act respecting further COVID-19 measures, which makes changes to the  Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) program. For those so inclined, here is the full text of the Bill. 

New Criteria for Eligibility

Starting with period 5 (which began on July 5), employers will no longer have to show a decline in revenue of 30%. Most employers (as long as they meet the definition of eligible employer) will be eligible for the CEWS and will not need to show a revenue reduction of 30%, as was previously required.  
Continue Reading Changes to the CEWS