The Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development (MLTSD), recently announced an extension of the amendments to the Employment Standards Act (ESA) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The amended regulations have been extended to January 2, 2021.
 

During the COVID-19 period (March 1, 2020 to January 2, 2021):

• A non-unionized employee whose employer has temporarily reduced or eliminated their hours of work for reasons related to COVID-19 is deemed to be on a job-protected Infectious Disease Emergency Leave.
• A non-unionized employee is not considered to be laid off under the ESA if their employer temporarily reduces or eliminates their hours of work or wages for reasons related to COVID-19.
• A non-unionized employee is not considered to be constructively dismissed under the ESA if their employer temporarily reduces or eliminates their hours of work or wages for reasons related to COVID-19.

Beginning on January 3, 2021:

• Employees will no longer be deemed to be on Infectious Disease Emergency Leave.
• The ESA’s regular rules around constructive dismissal resume. This means a significant reduction or elimination of an employee’s hours of work or wages may constitute a constructive dismissal, even if it was done for reasons related to COVID-19.
• The ESA’s regular rules around temporary layoff resume. For practical purposes, an employee’s temporary layoff clock resets on January 3, 2021.

If you need help understanding employment standards rights and responsibilities, visit Ontario.ca/ESAguide or call the Employment Standards Information Centre at 1-800-531-5551 or TTY (for hearing impaired) at 1-866-567-8893. Information is available in many languages.

To learn more about COVID-19, employers’ responsibilities and job protections available to employees, visit Ontario.ca/COVID.

 

---

READ MORE ABOUT: