Craig J. Stehr
Partner
Article
5
Bill 186, Employment Standards Amendment Act (Infectious Disease Emergencies), 2020, received Royal Assent and came into force on March 19, 2020. The Bill amends the Employment Standards Act, 2000 to address when emergency leave is available to employees in case of infectious disease emergencies, such as COVID-19. The Bill is available here.
The amendments set out the circumstances in which an employee is entitled to a leave of absence without pay where the employee cannot perform the duties of their position for reasons related to a designated infectious disease:
An employee is entitled to a leave of absence without pay if the employee will not be performing the duties of his or her position,
Employers are entitled to request from the employee supporting evidence reasonable in the circumstances, and at a time that is reasonable in the circumstances, that the employee is entitled to the leave. For an infectious disease emergency, the employer may not request a medical certificate. The leave may last for a period up to the end of the declared emergency or designated infectious disease.
Notably, the provisions clarify that an employer may direct an employee to not attend the workplace due to a concern about the spread of the infectious disease, in which case the employee may be placed on unpaid leave.
The legislation also provides the Lieutenant Governor in Council with the ability to make regulations related to emergency leaves, declared emergencies, infectious disease emergencies, including the ability to extend the above leave entitlement.
To learn more about workplace strategies for communicable illnesses and handling COVID-19 in your workplace, please contact a member of Gowling WLG's Employment, Labour & Equalities Group.
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