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COVID-19 & Legislation Updates | Weekly Workplace Recap from Feb 18 to Feb 24, 2022
Below are the key COVID-19 & legislation topics that touch on the workplace from Feb 18 to Feb 24, 2022.
Federal
NDP asks Liberals to drop appeal of tribunal ruling in EI mat leave case
The federal New Democrats are asking the country's employment minister to drop the government's appeal of a decision that found employment insurance rules discriminatory against new mothers.
In his letter to Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough, NDP critic Daniel Blaikie says an appeal of the tribunal ruling would only prolong access to justice for new parents who lose their jobs.
Instead of challenging the ruling from a federal tribunal, he is asking Qualtrough to introduce the necessary legislation to amend the social safety net program.
In January, the Social Security Tribunal ruled that sections of the Employment Insurance Act violated women's constitutional rights to equality under the law.
It did so in a case brought by six women who lost their jobs while on, or just after, parental leave and had their EI claims rejected because they hadn't worked the minimum number of hours needed to qualify for benefits.
The tribunal's ruling noted that it was up to the government to resolve the situation, and Blaikie is offering his party's support to pass by summer any bill the Liberals introduce.
Ontario
Ontario to mandate disclosure of employee electronic surveillance
Ontario is planning to require employers to tell their workers if they are being electronically monitored.
It would require businesses to tell their employees — whether they are in the workplace, in the field or working from home — how the company monitors computers, cellphones, GPS systems and other electronic devices.
The law would apply to businesses with 25 or more workers and would require them to have a written policy on whether they electronically monitor their staff, and if so how, and the purpose of collecting the information.
Ontario gained 344,800 jobs in 2021, largest increase on record
The Financial Accountability Office of Ontario (FAO) released a report that provides an update on Ontario’s labour market performance in 2021, highlights major challenges facing the province’s workers, and includes a brief overview of the impact of the COVID-19 Omicron variant on employment in January 2022.
In 2021, Ontario’s labour market rebounded strongly, adding 344,800 jobs, the largest annual increase on record. This brought employment essentially back to the 2019 pre-pandemic level, following a record drop in 2020. With this rebound, the unemployment rate declined to 8.0 per cent in 2021, down from 9.6 per cent in 2020.
Despite strong overall job growth, the pace of recovery was uneven, with some groups remaining far below their 2019 pre-pandemic employment levels. Employment among young workers and those in low-wage industries with close customer contact, including accommodation and food services and wholesale and retail trade, remained below 2019 levels. In 11 of Ontario’s 16 major cities, employment in 2021 was lower than pre-pandemic levels.
More broadly, lingering effects of the pandemic continue to pose challenges to many workers. Some workers have struggled with unemployment for long periods of time, others are affected by a shift in skill requirements to softer and more advanced technical abilities, and there are hiring difficulties despite record job vacancies, notably in accommodation and food services.
New campaign launched to help small businesses during their pandemic recovery
A new business supports campaign has been launched to help make small business owners and operators more aware of grants, incentives, training and other available resources as they recover from the pandemic.
Small businesses are encouraged to take advantage of these resources, which include access to one-on-one virtual assistance, COVID-19 guidelines, and links to other financial resources and relief measures.
Key small business supports provided by the City currently include:
- Toronto Main Street Recovery and Rebuild Initiative
- Free business webinars
- Digital transformation resources for businesses
- CaféTO
- Small business tax subclass
Alberta
Alberta county says it will no longer hire businesses with vaccination policies
Alberta's largest and most northern county - Mackenzie County - says it is no longer working with local businesses that have a mandatory vaccination policy.
Mackenzie County says businesses that require employees, contractors or subcontractors to show proof of vaccination in workplaces or on work sites will not be hired to provide goods or services.
Alberta plans to lift 'almost all' COVID-19 restrictions by March 1
Premier Jason Kenney announced plans to move forward with the lifting of almost all COVID-19 restrictions in Alberta by early next week.
On Saturday, February 26 the government will announce a final decision about proceeding to Phase Two of the province's plan to lift almost all restrictions on March 1.
British Columbia
B.C. tribunal dismisses worker's mental disability discrimination claim
The B.C. Human Right’s Tribunal’s recent dismissal of a worker’s mental disability discrimination claim is a good example of an employer who did just about everything right in the accommodation process, says Melanie Samuels, an employment lawyer and partner at Singleton Reynolds in Vancouver.
After an employee with the Interior Health Authority (IHA) — a regional health authority based in Kelowna, B.C filed a worker's mental disability discrimination claim, the tribunal determined that there was no discrimination, pointing out that IHA returned Jardine to work when she was ready. There was nothing indicating that IHA’s actions were informed by her disability or that her performance issues before 2017 were related to it, said the tribunal.
IHA’s handling of Jardine’s medical leaves and its attempts to return her to work show the importance of supporting an employee who may be having stress-related issues and finding out how to help, says Samuels.
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