Wherever you live and work, chances are your workplace has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Many businesses have closed, either voluntarily or under provincial bans on non-essential services, and those closings and layoffs have affected hundreds of thousands of people.
- If you have been laid off, the Canada Emergency Response Benefit will help you stay afloat. And: additional career advice.
- Here’s how to apply for EI and other COVID-19 emergency government income supports
Toronto employment lawyer Daniel Lublin answered frequently asked questions about COVID-19′s impact on the work force. Some questions include:
- If my employer shuts down because of COVID-19, am I entitled to severance?
- If I have COVID-19, am I entitled to my salary while quarantined?
- What types of questions can my employer ask me related to COVID-19?
Though the federal and some provincial governments have introduced income supports for workers that don’t qualify for EI benefits, many businesses have called for larger wage subsidies to prevent layoffs, as well as a broad freeze on payments to government.
Get a second opinion:
- What are the rules around temporarily laying off employees?
- My boss wants me to self-quarantine without pay. Is that legal?
- Is this a bad time to be switching jobs?
Have a question that you’d like answered? Send them to NineToFive@globeandmail.com. You can also check The Globe and Mail’s digest of the latest news about COVID-19′s spread around the world.
Because the pandemic is such an unprecedented event, the legal landscape will be changing quickly. There may be considerations about your personal situation which make the information here inapplicable to you. To obtain advice that relates to your personal circumstances, the best route is to contact an employment lawyer.