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Labour Program and federally regulated workplaces – COVID-19

From: Employment and Social Development Canada

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With the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), employers and employees in federally regulated workplaces may face significant disruptions in the workplace. We are monitoring the impact of COVID-19 closely and taking it very seriously.

Employers should be aware of the legal framework within which they can prepare for, manage and address developments caused by the spread of this virus. It is important to ensure employers meet their workplace obligations and protect employee rights.

On this page

Roles and responsibilities

The Labour Program is responsible for administering Part II of the Canada Labour Code (the Code).

The Public Health Agency of Canada is responsible for preparing for and responding to any infectious disease emergencies that may happen in Canada.

Employer responsibilities under Part II of the Canada Labour Code

As an employer, you are responsible for protecting the health and safety of your employees at work. You are required to implement preventative measures to ensure your employees are not exposed to conditions that could be harmful to their health or safety while working.

Provision of protective equipment – Employer responsibilities

As a federally regulated employer, you are responsible to protect the health and safety of your employees under the Canada Labour Code, Part II. You may provide respiratory protection and other protective equipment to your employees to ensure their health and safety, following an analysis of hazards present in your workplace.

Currently, it may be difficult for you to get the protective equipment normally used in your workplace. Consult the following if you are a federally regulated employer who is not able to get this protective equipment through your usual supply chains:

Updating or creating a hazard prevention program

Hazard prevention programs are prepared in response to the hazards at a particular workplace.

As an employer, you are required to update or create your own hazard prevention programs, You are require to update your hazard prevention program to address a biological hazard such as COVID-19.

Workplace parties should consider whether doing certain tasks puts employees at greater risk of exposure to coronavirus.

When the workplace identifies a new hazard such as COVID-19, employers must:

  • develop and implement changes to the workplace hazard prevention program, and
  • monitor their effectiveness

Supporting the Internal Responsibility System, the employer must make all revisions to the Workplace Hazard Prevention Program by consulting with:

  • the policy health and safety committee
  • the workplace health and safety committee, or
  • the workplace health and safety representative

If personal protective equipment is required, employers must:

  • inform the employees
  • provide training and procedures on how to use the equipment, and
  • keep training records

Responsibilities of employees include:

  • following safety procedures
  • using safety equipment, devices and clothing as required, and
  • reporting any safety issues to management

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) has prepared a fact sheet with information on what workplaces can do to mitigate the impact of COVID-19.

Employee rights under Part II of the Canada Labour Code

Under the Code, employees have the following 3 basic rights:

  • the right to know
  • the right to participate, and
  • the right to refuse dangerous work

Definition of danger

"any hazard, condition or activity that could reasonably be expected to be an imminent or serious threat to the life or health of a person exposed to it before the hazard or condition can be corrected or the activity altered."

Read the full definition of danger.

More information on the right to refuse dangerous work and the investigation process: Right to refuse dangerous work.

Mental health

During the COVID-19 pandemic, employees may be experiencing:

  • a high degree of uncertainty
  • worry
  • anxiety, and
  • stress about the health and safety of their loved ones and themselves

Employees may also be experiencing disruptions to their work and personal lives. Some may also be experiencing harmful behaviours from colleagues.

Employers must address these behaviours in their workplace harassment and violence prevention policy. The policy addresses factors, which are components of psychological violence, such as:

  • bullying
  • teasing, and
  • other aggressive behaviour

To learn more about how to address psychological violence in the workplace:

Resources and tools to support mental health in the workplace

The following lists offer online tools and resources on mental health. The resources can help support both employees and employers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For employees:
For employers:

Reporting requirements

Employees are required to report hazardous occurrences to their employer. This includes reporting their own potential exposure to COVID-19 that caused or is likely to cause illness to themselves or to any other person.

Employers are required to:

  • report continued refusals to work to the Labour Program as soon as possible once all workplace investigations have taken place
    • contact the Labour Program at 1-800-641-4049 (toll free). An official delegated by the Minister of Labour will follow up with employers to review Code requirements related to refusals to work
  • investigate instances of employees with confirmed COVID-19 resulting in exposure to other employees, and for preventing recurrence of exposure, and
  • report known cases of employees confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 in the workplace using the Hazardous Occurrence Investigation Report

COVID-19 measures, updates, and guidance related to occupational health and safety

Extension of first aid certification validity period (new as of September 11, 2020)

Employers are subject to Part II of the Code and related occupational health and safety regulations. They must ensure that their employees receive training to keep their first-aid certificates and certifications valid.

Due to COVID-19 physical distancing measures, most first aid training providers have discontinued portions of training. Since in-person training is required for standard first aid certification, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation, employees were not able to complete all of the required training during the pandemic.

In response to this issue, the Government of Canada temporarily extended first aid certificates, certifications and courses validity established under the:

The validity periods are temporarily extended as follows:

  • For the COHSR, AOHSR and OTOHSR, first aid certificates and certifications expiring between March 13, 2020, and August 31, 2020: the validity is temporarily extended by 6 months from the date on which it would otherwise have expired or until December 31, 2020, whichever comes first
    • for example, if the expiration date is April 15, 2020, the certification validity is extended to October 15, 2020
  • For the MOHSR, cardiopulmonary resuscitation courses successfully completed between March 13, 2019, and August 31, 2019: the validity is temporarily extended to 18 months or until December 31, 2020, whichever comes first

These extensions ensure that businesses who are or were unable to renew the first aid certification of their employees, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, are:

  • not unfairly penalized, and
  • can continue their operations while ensuring the health and safety of their workers and Canadians

For more information, consult the Ministerial Order and the explanatory note.

Face coverings in the transportation sector

Transport Canada is expanding the requirements for the use of face coverings by workers, passengers and other players involved in the transportation sector. Face coverings can reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

For more information, consult the following:

Hazard alert on cleaning products imported from the United States

To avoid a shortage of cleaning products used in workplaces, Health Canada has put in place interim measures. These interim measures make it easier for Canadian workplaces to import cleaning products from the United States. Should these products appear in your workplace, consult the Labour Program Hazard Alert: Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) – Temporary changes related to COVID-19. This hazard alert will help you understand how these interim measures may affect your workplace.

Temporary measures under Part III of the Canada Labour Code

The Government of Canada put in place temporary measures to support workers and businesses facing hardship because of COVID-19.

Extension of lay-off periods (Ended March 31, 2021)

On November 9, 2020, the Government of Canada had temporarily extended certain lay-off periods established under the Canada Labour Standards Regulations in response to COVID-19.

Note: The temporary extension of lay-off periods was repealed on March 31, 2021.

The temporary extension of lay-off periods gave greater protection to federally regulated workplaces. It provided employers more time to recall employees laid-off due to COVID-19.

Prior to the temporary extension of lay-off periods, employees could be laid-off for up to 3 months, or up to 6 months if a recall date was provided in a written notice at the time of the lay-off. After these time periods, the lay-off became a termination.

Note: you can find the current lay-off periods in the Canada Labour Standards Regulations

As noted, the provisions have been repealed. However, for information purposes, please see the text below that reflects what the extension lay-off periods were, from November 9, 2020 to March 31, 2021:

The allowable time before a lay-off is considered a termination of employment is temporarily extended as follows:

  • if an employee is laid off for a period of 3 months or less
    • before March 31, 2020, the time is extended
      • by 9 months after the day on which it would otherwise end; therefore, an employer would have up to 12 months to recall the employee before the lay-off is deemed to be a termination of employment
    • for the period between March 31, 2020, and December 31, 2020, the time is extended and
      • the employer has until March 31, 2021, to recall the employee before the lay-off is deemed to be a termination of employment
  • if an employee is laid off with an expected recall date or fixed period
    • prior to March 31, 2020, the date specified in the written notice will be extended
      • by 9 months or to March 31, 2021, whichever is earlier and the employer would have up to that period or date to recall the employee before the lay-off is deemed to be a termination of employment
    • during the period between March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2020, the term of the lay-off is extended and
      • the employer has until March 31, 2021, to recall the employee before the lay-off is deemed to be a termination of employment, unless a later recall date or fixed period was provided in a written notice

Note: These extensions do not apply retroactively. Employees are not entitled to this extension if:

  • they were terminated prior to June 22, 2020, or
  • their employment was terminated prior to November 9 2020, because their employer chose not to apply the extension that came into force on June 22, 2020

Employers can call their employees back to work at any time but prior to termination.

Note that these are temporary changes and the extension provisions will not apply to lay-offs occurring after December 31, 2020.

The duration of the employee’s lay-off continues to count towards their continuity of employment. This means it will factor into the calculations for their termination pay and severance pay upon termination of their employment.

The temporary extension of lay-off periods does not apply to employees who are:

  • covered by a collective agreement that contains:
    • recall rights
    • a minimum work guarantee
  • on strike or a lock out
  • receiving employer payments (for example, employer continues to provide payment for retention purposes)
  • receiving employer benefits (for example, pension plan or insurance plan)
  • receiving or eligible for supplementary unemployment benefits
  • terminated prior to the coming into force of these changes

At any point, if an employee’s employment is terminated, the employer must pay the following to the eligible employee, as outlined in the Code:

  • termination pay, and
  • severance pay

When the provisions were in force, employers who intended to use the above temporary extension were to inform their employees of their intention as soon as possible. They should have done so by providing a new written notice with the new recall date.

Leave related to COVID-19 (Ends May 7, 2022)

As an employee working in a federally regulated workplace, you may be entitled to 2 unpaid leaves related to COVID-19:

The Code does not provide for paid leave related to COVID-19.

However, while you are on leave, you may have access to certain benefits such as:

For the complete information on eligibility requirements and how to notify your employer, consult: Leave related to COVID-19 (unpaid).

Note:

  1. Between March 15, 2021 and November 20, 2021, 2 unpaid COVID-19 leaves related to sickness and caregiving were available:
    • the leave related to sickness provided up to 4 weeks, and
    • the leave related to caregiving provided up to 42 weeks (the later was 38 weeks between March 15, 2021 and June 19, 2021)

    The leave was repealed on November 20, 2021.

  2. Between November 21, 2021 and December 16, 2021, employees in federally regulated private sectors, who were unable to work due to COVID-19, continued to have access to other leaves available under Part III of the Code, such as:
    • up to 5 days of personal leave, 3 of which are paid if an employee has completed 3 continuous months of employment. This leave can be taken for various reasons, including to treat an illness or injury, to carry out responsibilities related to the health or care of any of their family members, or in the event of an urgent situation, and
    • up to 17 weeks of unpaid medical leave. This leave can be used if they are unable to work due to illness, injury, organ donation surgery, or medical appointments during working hours. Employees are also eligible to take up to 16 weeks of unpaid leave if they are unable to work due to quarantine. While on leave, employees could be eligible for Employment Insurance sickness benefits

Temporary removal of medical certificate requirements (Ended September 25, 2021)

As of September 26, 2021, employees are required, once again, to provide a medical certificate to take medical leave.

For the complete information, consult: Medical leave (unpaid).

Eligible wages period extension for the Wage Earner Protection Program (new as of September 11, 2020)

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have temporarily extended the eligible wages period for the Wage Earner Protection Program (WEPP) by up to 6 months.

The WEPP is a Government of Canada program that provides financial support to workers who are owed eligible wages when their employer files for bankruptcy or becomes subject to receivership. Eligible wages include wages, vacation pay, disbursements, severance and termination.

For more information:

COVID-19 guidance, information and resources for employers and employees

Key resources

Vaccines

Screening resources

Safety in the workplace

Financial supports

Contact the Labour Program

If you are an employer or employee in a federally regulated workplace and you have concerns or questions about coronavirus, please contact the Labour Program at:

  • 1-800-641-4049 (toll-free)
  • Teletypewriter (TTY): 1-800-926-9105

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