December 6, 2022 – Government of PEI: Changes have been made to the Emergency Leave Regulations under the Employment Standards Act to ensure workers have job protection when they are sick.
Emergency Leave under the Employment Standards Act was originally introduced during the pandemic to provide job-protected leave to employees required to self-isolate under orders made by the Chief Public Health Office. Now that the mandatory isolation requirement has ended, regulations have changed to continue supporting workers.
Under the new regulation change, employees may now use the Emergency Leave for certain types of communicable diseases, including COVID-19. When an employee has been diagnosed with a disease transmitted by respiratory route, such as COVID-19 or influenza, and has been advised to stay home from work by a medical practitioner or nurse practitioner, they can be eligible for Emergency Leave.
This leave will provide employees with unpaid leave and job protection for the duration of their contagious period based on the advice of a medical professional. The regulation changes will come into force on Saturday, December 10, 2022.
Read the full news release here