As Ottawa closed Canada鈥檚 borders in response to the global coronavirus pandemic Monday, Canadian law firms are providing suggestions for maintaining business in unusual times.
As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced border closures to all but Americans, he said exceptions would be made, including for commerce or trade. That has been discussed with Canada鈥檚 G7 partners, Trudeau said.
Further, Trudeau said, provinces and territories continue to cooperate.
And as political and public health leaders create responses, law firms are providing advisories for businesses to make sure they don鈥檛 get into legal grey areas.
McCarthy Tetrault law firm has issued suggestions for employers on handling听 current workforce issues about social distancing, self-isolation and quarantine that have forced businesses to make tough choices about business continuity and, indeed, long-term business survival.
And that鈥檚 going to mean workforce adjustments including hours reductions, shift-size reduction, reallocation of job duties, said a firm brief.
鈥淲hen dealing with these hard decisions, employers must not lose sight of their legal obligations,鈥� McCarthy Tetrault said.
And, suggests the McMillan LLP firm, reviewing or developing a pandemic response plan is a good idea.
When making workforce adjustments, the brief said, employers must ensure they adhere to statutory requirements on schedule or hours changes and provide appropriate employee notice.
Human rights factors should also be considered, 鈥渕ost importantly, the duty to accommodate on the basis of family status to the point of undue hardship, when changing an employee鈥檚 hours of work.鈥�
Key there, McCarthy Tetrault said, is meeting the needs of parents faced with school and daycare closures.
Employees鈥� hours are also a consideration. An employer unilaterally cutting hours could be seen as a layoff and expose a company to constructive dismissal claims or union grievances. Minimum pay for employees sent home is also a consideration. It is suggested employers work with unions to move forward.
Quarantine or illness may leave some employees unable to work, leaving others to pick up the slack with overtime.
鈥淚n some Canadian jurisdictions, an employer and an employee can agree that the employee will work more than the daily and/or weekly statutory limits on hours of work. Regardless of such agreement, eligible employees are entitled to receive overtime pay for any overtime worked.鈥�
Again, employers are encouraged to work cooperatively with employees to avoid legal problems. The same holds true for using vacation time during this period.
鈥淓mployers can also offer employees the option to use their vacation entitlements in the event they are self-isolating, in order to receive compensation they would not have otherwise received,鈥� McCarthy Tetrault said. This should be voluntary, rather than required by employers.
What it all comes down to, explained McMillan LLP, is a need to have a pandemic plan to 鈥渄etail how the employer will deal with the impact of COVID-19 on its workforce and operations.鈥�
听Where applicable, employers should work in connection with their health and safety committee,鈥� McMillan said. 鈥淲here the workplace is unionized, employers should carefully review all obligations under any applicable collective agreements and consult with the union(s) when reviewing or developing the plan.鈥�
Among considerations should be: legal obligations, privacy issues, workplace risk management, business continuity and, very importantly, communications protocols.
鈥淓mployers must continuously monitor and adapt their plan to mitigate risk and be prepared to respond quickly,鈥� McMillan听 said.
鈥淚n doing so, employers must carefully balance their obligations to provide employees with a safe and healthy workplace while respecting individual employee rights under all applicable employment standards, human rights, privacy, and health and safety legislation,鈥� the firm said.
@jhainswo
