Update – COVID-19 and Employment in Ontario: What you need to know for January 2021

December 18, 2020

Nancy Shapiro^*

Update: On the evening of December 17th the Ontario Government announced the extension of Infectious Disease Emergency leave to July 3, 2021. To view the press release, please click here.

• While the COVID-19 Period is slated to end January 2, 2021, employers will still need to be compliant with all orders of public health and the Ministry of Labour

• Employers must be screening employees each day they are entering the workplace in compliance with instructions issued by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health from time to time

https://www.ontario.ca/page/resources-prevent-covid-19-workplace

• Employers in certain zones (yellow, orange, red) must have a COVID-19 Workplace Safety Plan (outside of those zones, it is noted as a recommendation)

https://www.ontario.ca/page/develop-your-covid-19-workplace-safety-plan

• What will change January 2, 2021?

• • Infectious Disease Emergency Leave is currently slated to end January 2, 2021

• • NOTE: it can be extended and historically throughout this pandemic the government has given little to no warning of changes in directions
    • • • Recommendation 1: register for alerts on the Ministry of Labour Website
        • Recommendation 2: do not execute on decisions impacted by this date without verifying that the law is not changing yet again in advance

• • After Infectious Disease Emergency Leave ends, employees who were placed out of active service as a result of the pandemic are no longer on that leave

• • ESA regular rules around constructive dismissal resume

• • ESA regular rules around temporary lay-off result and the layoff clock resets on January 3, 2021 for employees who were on infectious disease emergency leave

• • Employees out on leave of their own volition may have other leaves still available to them under the ESA or, in some situations, based on human rights legislation

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