The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) recently clarified its position with respect to the coverage of claims for COVID-19 vaccine reactions. Specifically, the WSIB FAQ section was updated with respect to employers’ reporting obligations regarding adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccines as well as the impact of costs associated with COVID-19 vaccination claims. The recent…
Tag: COVID-19
Ontario Extends Stay-at-Home Order; Implements Further Restrictions
On April 16, 2021, the Ontario government extended the declared emergency made under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA) as well as the Stay-at-Home Order until May 5, 2021. Additional restrictions for the Rules for Areas in Stage 1 (Shutdown Zone), made under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020,…
Ontario Amends Rules for Shutdown Zone Regarding School Closures and Limited Circumstances in Which They May Operate
The Ontario government has amended the Rules for Areas in Stage 1 to give effect to its recent announcement regarding the closure of public and private elementary and secondary schools, among other things. As a general rule, Ontario Regulation 278/21 amends the Shutdown Zone rules to require closure of all public and private schools within…
Reaching Out – Fifteenth Edition
Dear Friends, We are back with another edition of Reaching Out. With 2020 behind us and some light at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic tunnel, we thought it appropriate to reconnect with our Social Services clients with a Spring edition of Reaching Out. We chose not to publish Reaching Out last year as we…
Ontario Declares Third Emergency, Again Issues a Stay-at-Home Order
On April 7, 2021, the Ontario government declared its third emergency under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act and issued its second Stay-at-Home Order under that Act, effective April 8 at 12:01 a.m. Stay-at-Home Order (Order) The Order is similar in wording to the Stay-at-Home Order issued in January 2021, with some minor modifications….
Ontario Places All Regions Into Shutdown
Effective April 3, 2021, all regions in Ontario were placed into the Shutdown Zone of the Rules for Areas in Stage 1. The government announced that it anticipates the shutdown to be in place for at least four weeks. The Shutdown Zone rules were amended on March 26, 2021 (see our recent Human Resources and…
Benefits Canada Publishes an Article by Rayaz Khan on CEWS
Rayaz Khan, an associate at Hicks Morley has authored “Expert panel: The ins and outs of the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy one year on” published in Benefits Canada Magazine on March 30, 2021. The article covers Canada’s initial reaction to the pandemic, the introduction of the wage subsidy, and an update on the current state of…
Federal Government Extends COVID-19 Leaves under Canada Labour Code
On March 31, 2021, the federal government published regulations amending the Canada Labour Standards Regulations made under the Canada Labour Code to increase the length of the existing federal COVID-19 leaves. These changes took effect on March 15, 2021. Therefore, employees in federally regulated workplaces continue to be entitled to the following two job-protected unpaid…
Ontario Announces Changes To Indoor and Outdoor Dining Rules
On March 19, 2021, the Ontario government filed a number of regulatory amendments to the Rules for Areas in Stage 1, Stage 2 and Stage 3 with respect to indoor and outdoor dining. The Rules for Areas in Stage 1, as they apply to the Grey Zone, have been amended to permit restaurants, bars, food…
Arbitrator Rules That Virtual Class Prep Time Arrangement Violates Collective Agreement
On March 5, 2021, Arbitrator Susan Stewart released an award (Award) between the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board (Board) and ETFO dealing with preparation time (prep time) for remote learning elementary teachers in its virtual classes during the current 2020-21 school year. The grievance alleged that the Board had failed to provide prep time in…