The National Magazine by the Canadian Bar Association published an article called “Insist or accommodate?” by author Carolynne Burkholder-James, a lawyer with Marcotte Law in Prince George, B.C. In this article, Carolynne asks several employment lawyers about their thoughts on employers imposing mandatory vaccine policies in the workplace. The full article is here. I was asked specific questions including what would happen when an employee refuses a vaccine under such a policy, and what employers should think about when employees do refuse. The short answer is: all parties must be aware of the ..read more

The short answer: No, as long as you are following medical advice or following the government’s guidelines on COVID-19. The Globe and Mail asked me to answer this question for its readers in a recent column of the Nine to Five. The full question was as follows: I’m a personal support worker in a long-term care facility. I contracted COVID-19 and was off for three weeks to recover. I’m still testing positive for COVID-19, but since I’m no longer symptomatic, my supervisor says that I should be reporting back to work. I want to work again, but it also doesn’t feel right to be around high-risk in ..read more

Yahoo Finance Canada asked me whether employers can require their employees to take a vaccine, and whether private businesses can deny service to customers who have not been vaccinated. The full article is here, written by Alicja Siekierska, where she interviews several employment lawyers. Here’s my brief take right now on these two important questions: Employers can force employees to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Whether an employer wants to do it is another question. There are important caveats: If employees refuse vaccination based on personal preference, employers can terminate their employme ..read more

The Globe and Mail asked me to answer this question for its readers in a recent column of the Nine to Five. The full question was as follows: My boss is requesting that all employees get a COVID 19 test before reopening the office. The issue I have with this, is that the test only means we do not have the virus at that specific time. We could catch the virus as we leave the testing centre, for example. My thoughts are that it’s useless at indicating safety and intrusive. Can an employer of a non-essential office workspace make their staff get the test? What are our rights under these condition ..read more

Despite reported COVID-19 cases being down in Ontario, many employers are facing the grim reality of how the pandemic has affected, and will affect, their business. Even with the government’s emergency wage subsidy program, employers may have to cut down on employee and payroll costs. With many employees being permanently laid off or terminated without cause, the question becomes: Does an Employee Receive More Severance Pay If Terminated During COVID-19? Yes, but only if their employment contract does not have an enforceable termination clause. If an employment contract has a paragraph on what ..read more

Now that Toronto and most of Ontario has entered stage 3 of the province’s reopening plan, many employees are being recalled back to work. We have already covered that most employees must return to the workplace if recalled, employee options while laid off, legal pay cuts, refusing work, and others, but these are no longer frequently asked questions as many employees are gradually returning to the workplace. With many employees back at work, some have been left behind. Many employees have been asking - why am I not getting called back to work but others are? What are my rights? What can I do ..read more

This is the eighth entry into Wong Employment Law’s recurring series of frequently asked questions about COVID-19. Now that Toronto and most of Ontario is entering stage 2 of the province’s reopening plan, many questions have again come up regarding layoffs and recalls to work. New Layoff Law On May 29, 2020, Ontario introduced a new regulation to the Employment Standards Act (ESA). For the most part, this regulation provides that employees who have been laid off due to COVID-19 are now deemed to be on a job-protected leave called the Infectious Disease Emergency Leave. What’s important to kno ..read more

Over the past week, many cities in the United States have taken to mass protests over systemic racism and discrimination. Sparked by the death of George Floyd, cities outside the US have also engaged in protests, including Toronto. The current events serve as another constant reminder that Ontario and Canada also have issues regarding systemic racial prejudices. Even Prime Minister Trudeau took 21 seconds to answer a question regarding Trump’s response to the protests, stating that it was “time for us Canadians to recognize that we too have our challenges, that Black Canadians, Racialized Cana ..read more

This seventh series of FAQ about employment law during COVID-19 addresses questions surrounding terminations of employment. Is it legal for an employer to terminate employment during COVID-19? Yes. This pandemic has not altered an employer’s fundamental right to terminate an employee’s employment for any reason.* If a termination is done on a without cause basis, employers still must provide notice of termination or pay in lieu of notice, and severance pay, if applicable. This is often referred to as the severance package. *There are some reasons that, if relied upon for termination, would be ..read more

With the Ford government allowing some retail stores to re-open, many Ontario employees are being recalled back to work. Here are frequently asked questions about employee recalls. Does an Employer have to give a timeline of when an employee will be recalled? No. Employers are not required to provide a definitive or estimated duration of how long a layoff will last. Even if an employer does provide an estimate, they may not be bound by it. However, if a layoff lasts longer than the prescribed limits in the Employment Standards Act, the layoff becomes a termination of employment. Does an Employ ..read more