British Columbia has mandated COVID-19 Safety Plans for businesses and employers in the province as part of its COVID-19 Restart Plan. Although Safety Plans do not need to be submitted to WorkSafeBC as a condition of operating, a WorkSafeBC officer or health officer may request a copy to ensure businesses are taking adequate steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Consistent with this power, on May 21, 2020, the BC Minister of Labour, the Honourable…

Today, BC announced it is extending the Employment Standards Act  temporary layoff period to a maximum of 16 weeks in any period of 20 consecutive weeks for layoffs connected to the COVID-19 emergency. The increased period is intended to be temporary and match the duration of the Federal Government’s emergency aid under the Canada Emergency Response Benefit. Previously, the maximum period a temporary layoff could go on, without triggering termination, was 13 weeks in any…

On April 6, 2020, the Alberta government announced additional changes to Alberta’s Employment Standards Code (the “Code”) in an effort to ease hardships caused by COVID-19. The changes include the following: Temporary leave period extended The Alberta government has increased the maximum temporary layoff period from 60 days to 120 days. Previously, employers could only temporarily layoff workers up to a maximum of 60 days within a 120 day period before triggering termination obligations. The…

The Office of the Premier of Ontario announced the launch of a toll-free phone line to respond to ‎inquiries from businesses concerning the Province of Ontario’s emergency order requiring all “non-‎essential” / “at-risk” workplaces to close, effective March 24, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. (see our recent post here). Businesses can call the “Stop the Spread Business Information Line” at 1-888-444-3659. Help via the hotline is available from 8:30 a.m.―5:00 p.m. If you have any…

On March 23, 2020, the Employment Standards Amendment Act (No. 2), 2020 came into force. It amends the Employment Standards Act (“ESA”) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The amendments introduced two types of unpaid job-protected leave, specifically three days of illness or injury leave and specific COVID-19-related leave. The three days of illness or injury leave have been implemented on a permanent basis, while COVID-19-related leave is intended to be a temporary measure so…

On March 17, 2020, the Alberta Employment Standards Code was amended by an Order in ‎Council, to provide for a new 14 day unpaid leave for employees under quarantine (“Quarantine Leave”), which includes any self-isolation as a result of COVID-19. Quarantine Leave may be extended beyond 14 days by Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer, in order to slow or prevent the spread of COVID 19. Quarantine Leave is in addition to the 16 week entitlement…

In the Ontario Labour Relation Board’s (“OLRB”) first decision concerning workers in the “gig ‎economy”, the OLRB held that Foodora Inc. (“Foodora”) couriers are “dependent contractors” under ‎the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (“LRA”). As dependent contractors, Foodora’s couriers are entitled to ‎organize and be represented by a trade union. ‎ In making its assessment, the OLRB analyzed the facts against OLRB jurisprudence examining the ‎relationships of couriers in various sectors and concluded that “the services…