April Showers Bring…News about Wage Subsidies, Emergency Benefits, Essential Workplaces, and Employee Screening in Response to COVID-19

We have certainly had a lot of “unprecedented” days in the last few weeks, but April 1 was no joke for Ontario employers.[i]

Here are some of the key updates for employers on April 1, 2020:

• Details about the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy will (finally) be announced

  • The Minister of Finance and Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade are speaking at 2:00 pm after delaying their press conference by a day (much to the frustration of business owners and employment lawyers).

  • Cindy Ingram will summarize the details about CEWS today.

• The website for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit is now operational

  • Applications can be made starting April 6, 2020.

  • To allow for the large number of applications expected, the government has asked people to stagger their applications:

    • April 6th for those born in January, February or March

    • April 7th if born in April, May or June

    • April 8th if born in July, August or September

    • April 9th if born in October, November of December

  • The date that a person applies will have no impact on when they receive the benefit.

  • The PM said that employers are still expected to pay their employees their wages above the CERB, and that this is where the CEWS comes into play.  This point is confusing, because to be eligible for the CERB, a person must be sick, have been laid off, have lost income, or be off to care for their children, implying that they are not working or receiving any income.  We will clarify this point after the CEWS details are clear.

  • The CERB program will be run jointly by Service Canada and CRA.

  • The government has asked people to set up an account with Service Canada or CRA before April 6, 2020 to ease the application process.

• Premier Ford announced that updates to the "essential workplaces" list are coming in the next day or two

  • After Ontario published its list last week, many thought it was too broad, and therefore inconsistent with the “stay at home” advice from public health officials.

  • In his press conference, Premier Ford said that there will be updates to the list.  He made this statement in response to concerns about construction sites and workplace safety orders that had been issued. 

  • We anticipate that the list will be shortened, and more businesses will then be forced to close or curtail operations.

• The City of Toronto is issuing stronger directives for social distancing and "active screening of employees at all businesses" that will last for 12 weeks

  • It is unclear what the screening directive will require employers to do.

  • The word “screening” is broad and vague.  For example, it may mean asking employees questions about or requiring details about:

    • quarantine orders

    • potential exposure to someone with COVID-19

    • symptoms

    • objective data, such as temperature

    • travel history

    • off-duty activities that are considered “high risk”

    • other personal health information

  • The right to “screen” employees is not unfettered.  Employers should not assume they have a right to inquire and demand information from employees because of this directive.

  • Employers must remember that they have obligations to respect privacy (including in relation to employees’ personal health information) and human rights in conducting any screening measures. 

  • These obligations may be impacted by these directives, but do not disappear.

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Like so many employers, we are digesting the news and trying to interpret what their practical obligations are.  We will continue to provide updates after we review updated legislation and written announcements so that we can help employers can make critical business decisions.

[i] Full pun credit to Jennifer Heath.