Ontario court reverses position on COVID-19-related temporary layoffs and constructive dismissal
![A course correction on emergency leave and constructive dismissal](https://cdn-res.keymedia.com/cdn-cgi/image/f=auto/https://cdn-res.keymedia.com/cms/images/ca/126/0299_637617867722523976.png)
Six weeks after the Ontario Superior Court ruled that a COVID-19-related temporary layoff deemed to be an Infectious Disease Emergency Leave (IDEL) under provincial legislation could constitute a constructive dismissal under the common law, the same court — but a different judge — ruled the exact opposite. The latter decision, of Justice Jane Ferguson, dismisses the former as “wrong in law” and lacking in “common sense.”