The defendant employer brought a Rule 21 motion to dismiss the plaintiff's constructive dismissal action.
The plaintiff had been temporarily laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic and government-mandated closures.
The court held that under the Employment Standards Act and O. Reg. 228/20, the temporary layoff was deemed an Infectious Disease Emergency Leave (IDEL).
The court explicitly declined to follow a recent decision (Coutinho) and concluded that the IDEL regulation displaced the common law doctrine of constructive dismissal for COVID-19 related layoffs.
The plaintiff's action was dismissed.
