An Ontario Superior Court of Justice judge has ruled that a
temporary layoff related to COVID-19 is not grounds for
constructive dismissal.
In Taylor v Hanley Hospitality Inc.1,
the court held that the Infectious Disease Emergency
Leave regulation (the “IDEL Regulation”)
under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the
“Act”)2 displaces an employee's
constructive dismissal claim at common law, providing a conflicting
view from the court's earlier decision in Coutinho v
Ocular Health Centre Ltd.3
Background
Infectious disease emergency leave (“IDEL”) was at
the forefront of the Ontario Government's efforts to mitigate
the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on job losses, deeming any
employee temporarily laid off due to COVID-19 to be on unpaid and
job-protected IDEL. The IDEL Regulation specifically states
that an employee on IDEL is exempt from the application of sections
56 (“What constitutes termination”) and 63 (“What
constitutes severance”) of the Act.
