Open for Business?: An FAQ For Employers Navigating Ontario’s Updated COVID-19 Measures
Over the past few months, the Ontario government has made a series of changes to the province’s approach to COVID-19 management. In general, these changes involve loosening restrictions and easing public health measures, including:
Increasing or removing capacity limits;
Expanding access to free rapid antigen tests available to the public;
Lifting the proof-of vaccination requirements; and
Removing most mask requirements.
For some employers, these changes are welcome while for others they are a cause for concern. No matter the perspective, we’re fielding many questions from employers about navigating this newer, looser public health strategy. This blog is intended to serve as an FAQ to some of the key questions.[i]
1. Should businesses update their vaccination policies or scrap them altogether?
While public health and safety measures have been relaxed, a new wave of COVID-19 is upon us, with experts confirming that cases in Ontario continue to rise. Under health and safety legislation, employers continue to have a legal duty to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances to ensure their workplaces are healthy and safe environments. To that end, vaccination policies play an important role in an employer’s toolbox. Each workplace must assess its own health and safety risks and determine whether their existing vaccination policy is still appropriate.
There is no “one size fits all” answer, but there are some important points that employers should consider:
Focus on the “big picture”: Just because COVID-19 restrictions have eased up today, doesn’t mean this will continue in a month, two months or six months from now. Employers are reminded that change happens quickly. A flexible, consistent vaccination policy is easier to manage (and communicate) than constantly introducing and repealing policies based on a specific moment in time.
Prioritize Health and Safety: Employers should consider what is necessary to ensure the health and safety of employees, customers and the public in accordance with government directives and health and safety legislation. This won’t be the same for every workplace. For example, remote workplaces will have different considerations than workplaces where employees interact with customers and each other in close proximity.
Consider whether alternatives are enough: Employers should consider how a vaccination policy fits into their overall health and safety strategy. Are alternatives available to the workplace sufficient?
2. Should we continue operating with reduced office capacity, or can we bring everyone back 100% in-person?
The Ontario government has removed the work-from-home guidance that was in place earlier in the pandemic. However, some employers (and their employees) have adjusted to remote-work life, and have decided to make it permanent, while others are ready to return to the workplace 100% in person or are set on developing hybrid work models.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, what works best for employers in general and from a health and safety perspective will be individual to that business and will depend on the industry the business operates in, the employees, the geographic location of the business and it’s customers.
For employers who decide that in-person or hybrid work makes sense, we recommend considering the following ideas we’ve come across that could form part of a broader health and safety policy:
Consider whether it is safe to have all employees in the workplace at the same time or whether staggering alternating schedules would be more appropriate taking into account things like the ability to distance employees and have them work safely apart, whether there is adequate ventilation, and if there are a large number of employees working in a communal space, how comfortable those employees will be;
Ensure their policies and expectations regarding masks, social distancing, attendance in the office and hours of work are clearly communicated to employees;
Consider using staggered start times for employees so they can avoid travelling on crowded public transportation, and limit in-person interactions if required;
Consider when and how often employees will be required to attend work in-person;
Consider whether COVID-19 symptom screening should continue to be used and whether it will be done with or without rapid tests;
Ensure employees are given the opportunity to work remotely if they are exposed to COVID-19;
Ensure that employees who are COVID-19 positive or are experiencing symptoms do not attend work in person with other employees.
While many of these strategies are not mandatory, they may be necessary for employers to ensure that they are complying with health and safety legislation generally.
3. Do we need to wear masks in the workplace?
At this time, Ontario has removed its mask mandate for almost all indoor settings.[ii] However, employers are reminded that there may be different requirements for masking at a municipal level.
This means that with some exceptions, employers are free to develop their own masking requirements. As with vaccination policies, employers should consider their workplace, the “big picture”, and the health and safety of employees, customers, and the public. Having a consistent policy (such as requiring masks when social distancing isn’t possible) is one way to ensure that employees and customers feel safe and to prevent an outbreak from happening in the workplace.
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Final Thoughts
While it may be tempting to quickly remove all health and safety measures simply because they are no longer required by the government, our advice to employers is to think before they act. We all want to return to “normal”, but the requirement to maintain a healthy and safe workplace for employees has not changed and must be prioritized.
[i] As with all things COVID-law-related, it’s subject to the caveat that the only constant is change. These answers are current as of April 2022, but we don’t know what the future holds, and many of these issues have yet to be addressed by Ontario courts.
[ii] However, note that last week, the Ontario government announced its decision to extend the mask mandate in high-risk settings (public transit, health-care settings, long-term care homes, etc.) until at least June 11, 2022.
