What is IDEL?
The acronym "IDEL" refers to the Ontario
government's Infectious Disease Emergency Leave, which was
added to the Employment Standards Act (the
"ESA") in March, 2020 in response to the COVID-19
pandemic. The IDEL is a job-protected leave under the ESA, which
means that employees cannot be terminated, penalized or reprised
against for requesting or taking an IDEL. The IDEL is an unpaid
leave of absence.
The IDEL continues to be available to employees for prescribed
reasons relating to COVID-19 including, but not limited to, the
following: (i) employees who need to stay home to care for children
and/or other prescribed family members, (ii) employees who are
under medical care and/or investigation for COVID-19, and (iii)
employees who are under an obligation to quarantine or
self-isolate.
