TORONTO – Ontario is temporarily amending its labour laws to help businesses avoid permanently laying off workers and paying out severance, which could send some into bankruptcy during the pandemic.
The government is expected to announce today that it will amend the Employment Standards Act, which requires businesses to terminate employees who have been laid off for 13 weeks.
The law then requires the business to pay severance to workers. The change will see non-unionized workers who have had their hours reduced or eliminated placed on a temporary leave that preserves their job.
Workers will still be eligible for federal emergency income support programs. The amendment to the law will expire six weeks after the province’s declared state of