Infectious Disease Emergency Leave *Does* Oust Common Law Constructive Dismissal

Does Infectious Disease Emergency Leave under the Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, c.41 oust the common law of constructive dismissal or were employees ostensibly placed on leave actually terminated?

If that question sounds familiar, it is because that is the question answered by the case of Coutinho v. Ocular Health Centre Ltd., 2021 ONSC 3076 (CanLII), about which I blogged in my post Infectious Disease Emergency Leave Does Not Oust Common Law Constructive Dismissal.

Problem is, there is a new decision, Taylor v Hanley Hospitality Inc, 2021 ONSC 3135, which reaches the opposite conclusion.

Infectious Disease Emergency Leave Does Not Oust Common Law Constructive Dismissal

Does Infectious Disease Emergency Leave under the Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, c.41 oust the common law of constructive dismissal or were employees ostensibly placed on leave actually terminated?

In Coutinho v. Ocular Health Centre Ltd., 2021 ONSC 3076 (CanLII), Justice David A. Broad of the Ontario Superior Court ruled that the regulatory changes did not oust the common law, meaning that employees objecting to be placed on IDEL could still sue for constructive dismissal damages.