A second wave of COVID-19 and employment rights in Alberta

With cases of COVID-19 surging across the country, public health officials have had to implement restrictions once again. Unfortunately for many businesses that has meant further closures and new health and safety measures.

Toronto employment lawyer and partner Lior Samfiru at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP joined Chelsea and Shaye on 630 CHED to discuss the secondary wave of the virus in Alberta and what employers and employees can expect.

What They Discussed

What could a secondary lockdown mean for employees?

The main concern for many employees seems to be a fear of returning to work outside of their homes and not remotely. Unfortunately for most, employees cannot choose to stay home if their employer is allowed to have their business open and operating at the physical workplace.

Will there be a return to government offered financial assistance programs like CERB?

The Federal government currently has implemented the Canada Emergency Benefit which replaced CERB but still allows Canadians to qualify for assistance if they did not qualify for Employment Insurance. The Alberta provincial government has also extended the period for permissible temporary layoffs as well. Employees do not have to accept a temporary layoff however and can treat the layoff as a termination.

What rights do Canadians have if they’re being asked to pay CERB back?

The CERB benefit was implemented very quickly which led to a lot of confusion for Canadians. There could be possible future pushback from citizens due to the nature of how the program was rolled out.

What are the enforcement policies in regards to paying back CERB?

The federal government is aware of the unique set of circumstances of this program and hopefully, the CRA will be accommodating to employees who applied in good faith.