Leslie J. Smith

I keep hearing about people with PTSD not being able to wear masks and getting hassled by businesses or patrons in stores, for not wearing a mask. If this is you, here is what you should do. 1. Read your local municipality mask bylaw, particularity the exemption section. Find out if you fit within one of the exemptions. 2. See if the bylaw states that you don't have to produce evidence of why you are claiming an exemption. Halton bylaw (which I am familiar with) states that n...o person claiming an exemption is required to produce proof of the reason for the exemption. 3. Keep several copies of the bylaw with the particular exemption highlighted, in your purse or pocket. 4. If you are refused entry into a business or a patron hassles you, give them a copy of the bylaw. Assume they are not aware of the exemption section or no-evidence section. Don't become argumentative. 5. If that does not end the dispute, get the person's name. 6. If a business continues to refuse you entry or hassles you, you may have a claim for money damages against the business for discrimination on the basis of disability. Consult a human rights lawyer (like me) for info on your specific situation. 7. Don't hassle people not wearing a mask. This world doesn't need more disunity. Just wear your own mask and keep your distance.

If this happened in Ontario, an employee allegedly on probation could have a wrongful dismissal case even though on probation (which is a question of fact) AND a possible case for breach of human rights on the basis of sex. Remember that even if there is no successful wrongful dismissal, you can still claim for breach human rights and be awarded reinstatement, lost wages and general damages. The theory is that in the course of terminating employment, one's human rights cannot be breached. Put differently, a termination of employment cannot breach human rights. Let's hope this woman succeeds.

UPDATE ON EMERGENCY LEAVE UNDER THE EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS ACT, ONTARIO (ESA). Ontario Government extended the protections under ESA to prevent temporary layoffs from automatically becoming terminations under the Employment Standards Act, Ontario, to January 2, 2021. Meaning - any non-unionized employee who experiences a temporary reduction in hours or wages between March 1, 2020 and January 2, 2021 will be deemed to be on a job-protected Infectious Disease Emergency Leave (I...DEL). During the extended COVID-19 Period, any such temporary reductions in hours or wages will not constitute a lay-off or a constructive dismissal under the ESA. Employees may still wish to claim constructive dismissal under the Canadian common law. Whether to do that, is a matter of ALL the facts and circumstances in your case. For best advice on ALL your options, please contact my office to arrange a ZOOM meeting. 905-257-7714.

Ontario limitation periods and procedural time periods resume September 14, 2020. By an Emergency Order dated March 20, the Ontario government suspended the running of most provincial limitation periods and procedural time periods retroactively to March 16 due to the COVID-19 emergency. The Emergency Order will be revoked on September 14, 2020. While the government has already lifted the suspension for some types of matters (Construction Act matters, Planning Act matters and...Continue reading