What Employers Should Know About Workplace Rights During Wildfire Emergencies
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While often ignored, wildfires create employment-law challenges that extend beyond temporary closure of working sites. Fire that forces residents to relocate or make work inaccessible often leave business owners and staff unable to meet their expected obligations. The most immediate concern for employees is mostly survival and finding a safe place to live.
Employers equally face challenging situations. The businesses may have to close because of an ordered evacuation or damaged premises. With this, employers suddenly don’t have work for their employees, while facing continuous payroll, rent, insurance, and rebuilding expenses. Ontario employment laws provide various options for such circumstances, including protected leave and temporary layoffs and more.
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Employee circumstances, nature of closure, and duration of the closure all affect the outcome. Understanding these situations is important for employers and employees. Below are a few things to know:
1. Know When Employment Issues Require Professional Advice
Most incidental wildfire-related disruptions at the workplace can be resolved through reasonable temporary arrangements. However, some situations can turn into serious disputes. For instance, dismissed employees can claim unfair dismissal if they missed work due to such emergencies. Employers also have to deal with workplace closures, staffing shortages, and employees who can’t resume their normal duties.
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Remember that employment laws vary by state, so the most appropriate action will depend on the laws surrounding the case. This justifies the importance of seeking legal services from professionals who can help you understand your rights and obligations as an employer. Employees can seek professional advice from FireHelpCenter.com for incidents that result in personal injuries and lawsuits where necessary.
2. What to Do When Employees Cannot Get to Work?
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Wildfires can prevent employees from reporting to work for various reasons. An employee may be injured, ordered to relocate, or unable to access the workplace due to road closures and other reasons. The legal consequences during such situations depend on the reasons why employees cannot work.
For employees who incur injuries, the main question is whether the injury is work-related. If the employee got injured while at work, for instance, while working at a site affected by wildfire, the Ontario workplace claims system often applies. Ontario's Workplace Safety and Insurance Board allows employees to file claims for work-related injuries and illnesses.
However, employees who suffer these injuries should file their claims and seek treatment promptly. Employers similarly have reporting obligations in special situations outlined by WSIB. This includes situations where the injured worker requires treatment beyond first aid.
Unfortunately, the situation is different if the employee can’t attend work physically because a wildfire forced them away from their home. There’s no specific rule in Ontario that gives employees automatic paid leave when a wildfire prevents them from attending to their work. This means employees shouldn’t assume that evacuation orders translate to paid or unpaid statutory leave.
3. What to Do If the Workplace is Destroyed or Closed Temporarily
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Accidental wildfires can destroy the employer’s entire workplace. Damaged or destroyed workplace and evacuation orders often force the business to close temporarily. Authorities may also prohibit access to the workplace if they are deemed risky.
If such happens, employers should make decisions about business operations, employee wages, benefits, and potentially termination. However, these decisions shouldn’t be arrived at solely on the assumption that emergency situations suspend employment obligations. If the workplace remains temporarily inaccessible, employers may consider alternative working options for employees, including working remotely.
However, there’s an option of a temporary layoff. Under Ontario’s laws, a temporary layoff occurs when there’s a need to reduce or stop employees’ work without terminating their contracts. Ontario laws allow for temporary layoff for up to 13 weeks for any period of 20 consecutive weeks. Longer periods are permitted in specific circumstances.
4. Should Employers Keep Paying Employees Even During Closure?
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Extensive wildfires may force long-term or permanent business closure. The most difficult question for employers when such happens is whether they should continue paying employees even though there’s no work available. Unfortunately, there’s no automatic yes or no answer as per Ontario laws. A suitable response to this depends on what happens to the employer-employee relationship, the terms in the employment contract, and whether the employer is dealing with a temporary interruption or actual termination.
Wildfires and related incidents can create serious operational emergencies. The workplace may lack electricity, face restricted access, or evacuation orders can prevent employees from reaching the premises. However, the fact that the employer cannot operate doesn’t mean employment obligations disappear.
In most situations, temporary closure doesn’t automatically terminate employment. If the employer anticipates resumption of operations, the employment relationship continues even if employees are temporarily out of work. Fortunately, Ontario’s Employment Standards Act (ESA) acknowledges temporary layoffs. The Act also outlines circumstances under which longer layoffs can remain temporary.
Nonetheless, the employment contract remains important. Employers shouldn’t assume that because ESA permits temporary layoffs, it automatically imposes unpaid layoffs for every employee. Some employment contracts contain terms surrounding layoffs, workplace locations, compensation, and business interruptions. Employers should note that a unilateral change to employment terms can potentially raise constructive dismissal issues.
That said, employers aren’t required to continue paying their employees’ ordinary wages indefinitely when employees aren’t working because of business closure. Ideally, the employer should determine the legal arrangements that apply. Employees may continue working remotely, be assigned modified hours or duties, or work from alternative locations. They may also apply for their due statutory leave. This eliminates the common blanket term, “The business is closed, and you won’t get paid.”
5. What Happens to Termination Pay?
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Issues surrounding termination pay are important legal consequences of these circumstances. Under the ESA guidelines, employees who have been employed for at least three months are entitled to statutory notice of termination and the due termination pay unless an applicable exception applies.
The ESA guidelines only provide exceptions where the employment contract has become impossible to perform or frustrated by unforeseeable events. This means genuine cases of frustration resulting from catastrophic wildfire differ from ordinary business decisions to terminate employees.
However, it doesn’t mean that all employees whose workplace burns down automatically lose their termination entitlements. Interestingly, the ESA warns that employers’ claims that employee contracts have been frustrated by unforeseeable events have historically been handled with a lot of skepticism.
Endnote
Wildfires can make work environments unusable without invalidating employment contracts. In such situations, employers should consider temporary layoffs, alternative work options, and other lawful options. For businesses that are permanently destroyed and continued employment genuinely becomes impossible, the frustration becomes relevant.
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Author Bio:
Amy Wilson is a freelance writer and content strategist with a passion for crafting engaging stories and insightful articles. With years of experience across industries, she specializes in creating compelling content that connects with readers. When she's not writing, Amy enjoys exploring new ideas, traveling, and diving into a good book.
