Lior Samfiru on working parents’ rights with school closures

School closures in Toronto and Peel region have raised concerns and worries with working parents. What options will they have for childcare? Will their employers be able to accommodate their childcare needs?

Lior Samfiru, a Toronto employment lawyer and co-founding Partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP spoke with the Toronto Star regarding working parents’ rights and employer obligations.

“It’s illegal for any employer to fire someone if they have children remote learning and cannot find adequate child care,” says Samfiru.

“Under the Employment Standards Act in Ontario, the infectious disease emergency leave gives employees the right to unpaid, job-protected work if they cannot perform the duties of their position because of COVID-19,” Samfiru states. “If one or both parents has a dependant child and cannot attend in-person work, such as in a factory, for example, they cannot be let go or disciplined while on leave.”

“They cannot be considered to have resigned either,” Samfiru says. “The job has to be there for them with the same rate of pay and responsibilities when they’re ready to go back to work.”

Samfiru goes onto explain that employers are obligated under the Human Rights Code to offer a work-from-home scenario if the parent has dependant children attending virtual school and are able to work remotely. “If an employer refuses to accommodate an employee while on leave, they could be obligated to pay damages as ordered by the Ministry of Labour. They would have breached the legal obligations, and they may have to pay the employee thousands of dollars in damages or the Ministry may have the employee reinstated back to work, potentially with back pay,” Samfiru says.