COVID-19 – Update – COVID-19 Related Changes To Employment Insurance

Employment Insurance ("EI") provides two types of benefits: regular and sickness benefits. Persons under quarantine may want to consider applying for sickness benefits. Sickness benefits provide up to a maximum of $573 a week for up to 15 weeks if a worker cannot work for medical reasons. Effective March 15, 2020, applicants for EI sickness benefits:

• will have priority EI application processing;
• do not have to provide a medical certificate;
• will be paid for the first week of their claim; and
• if they cannot apply now due to quarantine, they may apply later on and have their EI sickness benefits claim backdated to cover the period of delay.

Applicants who are not eligible for EI sickness benefits may still be eligible for EI regular benefits or the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit ("CERB").