The federal government has announced important changes to the Canada Labour Standards Regulations, which temporarily extend the permitted temporary layoff period for federally regulated employees laid off due to the pandemic.
According to a government press release, the amendments temporarily extend these time periods by up to 6 months as follows:
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for employees laid off prior to March 31, 2020, the permissible time period is extended by 6 months or to December 30, 2020, whichever occurs first; and
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for employees laid off between March 31, 2020, and September 30, 2020, the time period is extended until December 30, 2020, unless a later recall date was provided in a written notice at the time of the layoff.
These changes, which came into effect on June 22, 2020, do not apply to employees who are covered by a collective agreement that contains recall rights.
These changes also do not apply to employees whose employment had already been terminated prior to the coming into force of the amendments.
More information is available here:
https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/news/2020/06/backgrounder.html
The amended regulations were not yet available as of 5:00 p.m. E.D.T. on June 23, 2020.
