Liability Risks To Business In The COVID-19 Era

La version française de cette communication est publiée ici.

The COVID-19 pandemic has radically, if temporarily, changed the way that Canadians live, work, save, shop and play. Physical (social) distancing and the associated measures that come with it have changed a reasonably favourable business environment into a world where only essential/priority services remain open to the public, and most people are restricted to working from home, if they are working at all. This bulletin discusses some of the risks of legal liability that businesses might encounter in the COVID-19 era. It will focus on four different types of liability: (1) contractual liability, (2) tort risk (civil liability in Québec) for exposing customers and/or employees to the virus, (3) liability risks that arise from employees continuing working from home, and (4) class action risk.