COVID-19 Update: Amendment to Ontario Employment Standards

See these other posts for more COVID-19 Employment Law information:
»» Webinar & Slide presentation: COVID-19 Ontario Workplace Issues: March 16
»» Temporary Layoffs: March 17
»» EI Sickness Benefits and Work Sharing: March 17
»» New Emergency Care Benefits and Supports: March 18
»» Supplementary Unemployment Benefit Plan (SUB Plan): March 21
»» Mobilizing Canadian Industry to Fight COVID-19: March 23
»» List of Ontario essential workplaces: March 24
»» COVID-19 Emergency Response Act March 26
»» Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy March 30

COVID-19: Employment Standards Amendment Act (Infectious Disease Emergencies)), 2020

This bill was passed March 19 and the Ontario Government has published full details of this amendment on »» this page and has also written a straightforward Explanatory Quote, which I quote below:

The amendments entitle an employee to a leave of absence without pay, starting on the prescribed date, if the employee will not be performing the duties of his or her position because of various reasons related to a designated infectious disease, including that the employee is under medical investigation, supervision or treatment; that the employee is in quarantine or isolation; that the employee is providing care or support to another individual; or that the employee is affected by travel restrictions. Restrictions on the entitlement are specified, and related amendments are made addressing the evidence of entitlement required, when the entitlement ends and the regulation-making powers.

Further to that note, the infectious disease emergency leave is available for employees unable to work for any of the following reasons:

  • The employee is under medical investigation, supervision or treatment for COVID-19.
  • The employee is acting in accordance with an order under the Health Protection and Promotion Act.
  • The employee is in isolation or quarantine in accordance with public health information or direction.
  • The employer directs the employee not to work due to a concern that COVID-19 could be spread in the workplace.
  • The employee needs to provide care to a person for a reason related to COVID-19 such as a school or day-care closure.
  • The employee is prevented from returning to Ontario because of travel restrictions.
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Employees will also be able to utilize this leave to care for the following individuals:
The employee’s spouse.

  • A parent, step-parent or foster parent of the employee or the employee’s spouse.
  • A child, step-child or foster child of the employee or the employee’s spouse.
  • A child who is under legal guardianship of the employee or the employee’s spouse.
  • A brother, step-brother, sister or step-sister of the employee.
  • A grandparent, step-grandparent, grandchild or step-grandchild of the employee or the employee’s spouse.
  • A brother-in-law, step-brother-in-law, sister-in-law or step-sister-in-law of the employee.
  • A son-in-law or daughter-in-law of the employee or the employee’s spouse.
  • An uncle or aunt of the employee or the employee’s spouse.
  • A nephew or niece of the employee or the employee’s spouse.
  • The spouse of the employee’s grandchild, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece.
  • A person who considers the employee to be like a family member, provided the prescribed conditions, if any, are met.
  • Any individual prescribed as a family member for the purposes of this section.

These measures are retroactive to January 25, 2020, the date that the first presumptive COVID-19 case was confirmed in Ontario and the leave is intended to remain in place as long as COVID-19 remains designated as an infectious disease emergency by regulation and the employee remains unable to attend at work due to one of the circumstance outlined above. 

The effect of this is that different employees may have significantly different leave entitlements based on their individual circumstances. 
For example:

  • Employee ‘A’ is required to self-isolate for 14 days, is entitled to a leave for the duration of that period, and may then be able and expected to return to the workplace. 
  • Employee ‘B’ may have care obligations related to a school closure and therefore may be entitled to remain on leave for a significantly longer period of time. 

While employees are not required to provide a medical note if they need to take infectious disease emergency leave, an employer may require that other evidence that is reasonable in the circumstances be provided to justify the leave. This could be a note from the daycare or for evidence that the airline cancelled a flight, but not a medical note.

The introduction of these amendments does not necessarily alter an employer’s existing obligations regarding paid absences under workplace policies or collective agreements. These must be considered before making decisions on staffing reductions. 

I remind and encourage you to observe the recommendations outlined by our public health authorities and hope that you, your employees, families and loved ones stay safe and healthy.



You may also find these online resources helpful in keeping up to date with the COVID-19 situations in Toronto, Ontario and Canada: