Ontario: New Law Introduces COVID-19 Liability Protection with
Exceptions
New Legislation Enacted
Authors: Rhonda B. Levy, Knowledge Management Counsel and Monty
Verlint, Partner – Littler Canada
Bill 218, Supporting Ontario s Recovery and Municipal
Elections Act, 2020 was enacted on November 20, 2020. Bill 218
prevents legal action from being brought against companies that
make an honest effort to act in accordance with applicable public
health guidance and any federal, provincial or municipal laws
relating to COVID-19.
Supreme Court of Canada s Decision on Landmark Bonus
Case
Precedential Decision by Judiciary or Regulatory
Agency
Authors: Rhonda B. Levy, Knowledge Management Counsel and Monty
Verlint, Partner – Littler Canada
On October 9, 2020, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) issued a
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The right to disconnect refers to a worker s right to be
able to disengage from work and refrain from participating in
work-related communications, such as emails and WhatsApp messages,
during non-working hours.
The increasing prevalence of the importance of the right to
disconnect has resulted from the increase in work-related
communications which are being experienced by various workers
across the board during the evening and on weekends. The daily use
of smart phones, most of which are in fact given by the employer to
Background
In 2017, the parties entered into an employment agreement for
the role of Business Development Manager. Despite the
employee s title, he did not manage subordinates. In
March 2020, the employee was dismissed without cause, one week
after Ontario declared a state of emergency due to COVID-19.
At the time, the employee was 56 years old, and had been employed
for 28 months with a base salary of $60,000, plus commission.
In 2019, his last full year of employment, the employee s total
compensation was $145,186. Upon his dismissal, the employee
was paid four weeks base salary plus benefits.
Decision
The primary issue before the court was the length of the common