Employment lawyer on fourth IDEL extension

The Infectious Disease Emergency Leave in Ontario has once again been extended by the provincial government. While originally set to expire on September 25th, 2021, IDEL will now expire on January 2nd, 2022. What will this mean for employees who have been on a temporary layoff since the beginning of the pandemic? Will this extended leave help employees during another wave of COVID-19?

Lior Samfiru, a Toronto employment lawyer and Partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP in speaking with the Toronto Star says, “IDEL doesn’t protect employers to the extent many might think it does.” Samfiru goes on to explain that though IDEL was intended to protect employers from constructive dismissal lawsuits, the government has stated that temporary rules do not affect what is considered a constructive dismissal under common law.

“It’s this detail that means many employees put on IDEL may have grounds for a constructive dismissal lawsuit. Many are already going down that path; in fact, the longer IDEL is extended, more and more will do so,” says Samfiru.

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This issue has already resulted in several court cases since the beginning of the pandemic. “There have been three major court decisions so far concerning IDEL and constructive dismissal. The first decision ruled that IDEL does not take away a person’s right to sue for constructive dismissal under the common law. Since then, there have been two more decisions, one in favour of the employee and one in favour of the employer — but the latter is being appealed,” Samfiru explains.