Canada: Ontario To Introduce Paid Covid-19 Leave

Paid Leave

The Ontario government has  announced that they will introduce legislation that would, if passed, require employers to provide employees with up to $200 of pay for up to three days if they are missing work because of COVID-19. The new Ontario COVID-19 Worker Income Protection Program would be retroactive to April 19, 2021 and effective until September 25, 2021, the date the CRSB will expire.

By providing time-limited access to three paid leave days, the province is helping employees pay their bills as they help stop the spread of the virus, including by getting tested, waiting for their results in isolation or going to get their vaccine. The province will partner with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board to deliver the program and reimburse employers up to $200 per day for each employee.

CRSB Top-Up

The province has also announced that it could provide funding to the federal government to double the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) payments to Ontario residents, adding an additional $500 per week to eligible individuals for a total of $1,000 per week. Combined with the province's proposed three days of paid COVID-19 leave, doubling the CRSB would provide Ontario workers with access to the most generous pandemic paid leave in the country.

Eligible workers are those who are sick or are experiencing symptoms, who need to get vaccinated or have COVID-19-related mental health issues. The sick days would not need to be taken consecutively and no sick note is required.

If an eligible worker learns that they must isolate for longer than 50 per cent of the time they would have otherwise worked for the week, whether because of a positive COVID-19 test or risk of exposure, they may apply for the  Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit if they haven't taken a paid leave day under this proposal.

It's not clear how soon applications will be processed since the program still needs to be passed by the legislature, but the  website was launched Wednesday afternoon.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.