Last May, the government of Ontario filed Ontario Regulation 228/20 (IDEL Regulation)
under the
Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA).
The Regulation provides that an employee in a
non-unionized workplace who, any time during the "COVID-19
period" does not perform the duties of their position because
their work hours are temporarily reduced or eliminated by their
employer for reasons related to COVID-19, is deemed to be on
Infectious Disease Emergency Leave (Leave). The
COVID-19
period is defined in the IDEL Regulation as being from March
1, 2020 until July 3, 2021.
The IDEL Regulation amends layoff and constructive dismissal
rules exclusively under the ESA, and in most cases, eliminates