COVID-19 | Employer Rights & Obligations

As part of the discussion surrounding business implications resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, Sandbox Centre hosted platinum partner Barriston Law who lead the conversation on employment law in Barrie & Simcoe.  HR Performance & Results Inc also plays a key role in speaking to specific rights, obligations and requirements for both employee and employer with local MP's and MPP's from Barrie, Innisfil & Springwater weighing in on governmental action plans.

In part 1 of the series, the focus is on legalities in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Josh Valler and Jacklyn Tuckey of Barriston Law joined Janice Leroux of HR Performance & Results Inc, to touch on topics of the unknown surrounding COVID-19, with great insight shared into how it will affect businesses continuity in Barrie & Simcoe.

https://youtu.be/hADjG-udzGE

Some of the key subjects covered in part 1 of the series were;

• If employees want to work from home for non-virus reasons like lack of daycare, are employers entitled to provide them with equal work or equal pay?
• What code would you put for EI layoffs?
• If a business has been regulated to close, and they have to lay off their staff, is their EI claim subject to a 1 week or 2 week wait?
• How will the childcare responsibility be classified for EI Purposes?
• What if I have employees in the 3 month probation period right now?
• Does the proposed government plan cover job protection and compensation for full & part time employees that have been layed off?

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In part 2 of the series, the team from Barriston Law + HR Performance & Results took a deeper look into employment law in Barrie & Simcoe. The facilitators were joined by Barrie-Innisfil MP John Brassard as well as MPP Barrie-Innisfil Andrea Khanjin and representative from Barie-Springwater MP Doug Shipley‘s office, Marisa Breeze.

This session focused more on some of the unanswered questions from part 1 of the series, while also bringing new light to announcements made by our Federal & Provincial Governments pertaining to employers and employees in Barrie & Simcoe.

https://youtu.be/iuh4tsqY3TQ

Some of the key subjects covered in part 2 of the series were; (too many to list)

• Employment Standards Measurement Act – what does it mean for employers and employees?

• Government of Canada stimulus package

• Ontario Government closure of non-essential businesses

• Risks Associated with layoffs – what do I do? How do I protect myself? How do I protect my employees?

• As an employee what options do I have to retain wages while working from home as outlined or mandated by the Government?

• Can an employee refuse to work if they’re concerned about their health & safety?

• What are the severance and termination implications if your temporary layoff becomes termination because it goes beyond the allotted time?

• Do I need to offer work share programs equally to all employees? Can employees decline participation?

Webinar facilitators

Josh Valler

Joshua Valler is an Associate Lawyer at Barriston law practicing in the areas of Employment Law and Civil / Commercial Litigation. Josh passed the bar in 2016 after graduating with honours from the J.D. program at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law. Prior to practicing law, Joshua worked in various capacities for the Federal Government including roles as a Special Assistant to the Member of Parliament for Barrie, a Legislative Assistant to a Senator, and as a Special Assistant to the Minister of National Defenc

Janice Leroux

Janice Leroux is the founder and Partner at HR Performance and Results. The boutique style firm was opened in 2003 and strongly believes that all businesses, regardless of size need senior level HR expertise from partners who are attuned to their business needs.

Jacklyn Tuckey

Jacklyn Tuckey is an articling student with Barriston Law, and has summered with the firm since 2017. She will be practicing in the areas of Municipal Law and Civil Litigation following her call to the Bar in June of 2020.  Jacklyn graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School in 2019, having received an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto in in 2016.