On January 3, 2022, the Ontario government announced that due to the steep increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, the province will temporarily return to a modified Step Two of its Roadmap to Reopen. These temporary changes will come into effect on January 5, 2022 at 12:01 a.m. and will remain in effect for at least 21 days (until January 26, 2022), subject to the trends in COVID-19 cases and health system indicators.
The modified Step Two includes the following public health measures:
- social gathering limits will be reduced to five people indoors and ten people outdoors;
- capacity will be limited at organized public events to five people indoors;
- businesses and organizations must ensure employees work remotely unless the nature of their work requires them to be on-site;
- retail settings, including shopping malls, will be permitted at 50 per cent capacity;
- personal care services will be permitted at 50 per cent capacity;
- indoor meeting and event spaces are required to close with limited exceptions, but outdoor spaces can remain open with restrictions;
- indoor dining at restaurants, bars and other food or drink establishments will no longer be permitted. Outdoor dining with restrictions, takeout, drive through and delivery is permitted;
- indoor concert venues, theatres, and cinemas will be closed, but rehearsals and recorded performances are permitted with restrictions; and
- indoor sport and recreational fitness facilities, including gyms, will be closed, except for athletes training for the Olympics and Paralympics and select professional and elite amateur sport leagues. Outdoor facilities will be permitted to operate but the number of spectators cannot exceed 50 per cent occupancy.
A full list of these mandatory public health and workplace safety measures under the modified Step Two of the Roadmap to Reopen can be found in O. Reg. 263/20 under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020.
Temporary Measures for Schools
All publicly funded and private schools must move to remote learning starting January 5 until at least January 17, subject to public health trends and operational considerations. School buildings are allowed to remain open in specific circumstances, such as child care operations and to provide in-person instruction for students with special education needs who cannot be accommodated remotely. During this period of remote learning, free emergency child care will be provided for school-aged children of health care and other eligible frontline workers.
Expansion to the New Ontario Business Costs Rebate Program
The province recognizes that many small businesses will be impacted by the recent public health measures, and subsequently announced the expansion of the new Ontario Business Costs Rebate Program. Under this expansion, eligible businesses that are required to close or reduce its capacity will receive rebate payments for a portion of the property tax and energy costs that they incur.
Eligible businesses that are required to reduce their capacity to 50% will receive a rebate payment equivalent to 50% of their property tax and energy costs. Eligible businesses that are required to completely close for indoor activities, such as restaurants and gyms, will receive a rebate payment equivalent to 100% of their property tax and energy costs.
Takeaways for Employers
Employers who are required to close or reduce its capacity should ensure that they are complying with the mandatory public health and workplace safety measures under the Regulation.
For employers in Ontario who may have already started its transition from remote work to a hybrid model, it is important to note that where employees are not required to be on-site to perform their job duties, they are required to work from home between January 5 until at least January 26.
Eligible businesses should continue to monitor for further announcements regarding the date that applications for the new Ontario Business Costs Rebate Program will open, in addition to the full list of eligible businesses that may apply for this support. A full list of eligible business types will be made available later in January.
As always, we will continue to monitor for news regarding COVID-19 public health measures and will promptly post any updates that are relevant for employers.
This blog is provided as an information service and summary of workplace legal issues.
This information is not intended as legal advice.