B.C. workers stricken by COVID-19 may soon find themselves walloped by uncertainty over compensation amid the global pandemic, according to one B.C. lawyer.
鈥淐ontractors don鈥檛 have any sort of protection whatsoever,鈥� said Andrea Raso, an employment and human rights lawyer at Clark Wilson LLP in Vancouver, referring to the potential for layoffs.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 know whether or not the government is going to expand any benefits to them. I鈥檇 be surprised if they did.鈥�
Hourly workers may soon find their hours being curtailed as more people take to self-quarantine to stave of the threat of COVID-19.
Employment insurance and the B.C. Employment Standards Act will cover those hourly workers if their jobs are cut entirely.
But recourse might be tricky if workers feel they鈥檙e being discriminated against if they鈥檙e diagnosed with COVID-19.
鈥淸B.C.鈥檚] Human Rights Code offers protection in instances of race, colour, ancestry, place of origin and also physical disabilities. Typically, colds and flus are not considered a disability,鈥� Raso said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an open question as to whether or not this would be considered a disability. So short of having any of those protected grounds, there really isn鈥檛 a basis for any sort of complaint.鈥�
She said that if, for example, a person of Chinese or Iranian descent feels their employer is discriminating against them or not doing enough to stop other employees from discriminating against them, they can make a complaint to the Human Rights Tribunal to pursue damages for injury to dignity.
鈥淚f they feel they鈥檝e been outright terminated because of their ethnic background, their ancestry, then they鈥檙e open to getting a wide amount of damages, including even reinstatement to employment,鈥� Raso said.
As for sick leave, she鈥檚 urging unionized workers to review their collective agreements.
Non-unionized workers, meanwhile, should be taking a look at their own contracts as well as company policies on sick days.
鈥淎 lot of employers in B.C. do not have policies or have contracts that entitle their employees to sick leave,鈥� she said, adding the B.C. Employment Standards Act also does not provide any right to sick leave.
While the act makes provisions for compassionate care leave or emergency leave, Raso said she does not believe COVID-19 applies at this time.
鈥淭here really is no obligation on employers to pay them, by law,鈥� she said.
鈥淚 suspect that there may be some sort of [provincial] legislation passed that would say if an employee is unable to attend work as a result of the coronavirus, then they have a job-protected leave, which means an employer can鈥檛 fire them because they鈥檙e required to be off,鈥� Raso said.
