In the Yukon, the government introduced a new Leave (COVID-19) Regulation, under which an employee can take a 14-day unpaid leave related to COVID-19 if:
- the employee is subject to a health protection measure; or
- the employee is providing care for their child or another eligible person while the child or eligible person is subject to a health protection measure.
The leave of absence is to be taken in one continuous period and is entitled to only one leave of absence, therefore, no extension is permitted.
An employee who takes a leave of absence must give their employer as much notice as is practicable in the circumstances.
Employees are exempted from the requirement to produce, if requested to do so by their employer, a certificate of a qualified medical practitioner or a qualified nurse practitioner as a condition of the employee’s entitlement to sick leave.
Definitions in the law for the application of the leave
“Chief medical officer of health” has the same meaning as in the Public Health and Safety Act;
“Child” of an employee means a child (a) who is the biological or adoptive child of the employee or of the spouse or common-law partner of the employee, (b) who is placed with the employee for the purposes of adoption, or (c) of whom the employee has the care, custody or control, regardless of whether they are related by blood or adoption.
“Eligible person”, in relation to an employee, means a person who (a) is 19 years of age or older, and (b) because of illness, disability or any other reason, is under the day-to-day care and control of the employee.
“Health protection measure”, in relation to an individual at a particular time, means any of the following as it relates to COVID-19: (a) a quarantine order, or a restriction imposed by a health officer pursuant to a quarantine order, made under the Public Health and Safety Act that applies to the individual, (b) a restriction on the free movement of the individual, imposed on, or suggested in relation to, the individual (whether or not as a member of a class of individuals) by or under the authority of the chief medical officer of health or the Chief Public Health Officer appointed under the Public Health Agency of Canada Act (Canada), (c) a restriction on the free movement of the individual recommended by a medical practitioner who provides health care to the individual and recommends the restriction because of a condition of the individual, whether or not the individual themself has been diagnosed with, or suspected of having been exposed to, COVID-19, and d) hospitalization of the individual for medical investigation, supervision or treatment.
The leave entitlement is retroactive to March 27, 2020, and expires June 23, 2020. In conjunction with this new leave, the government announced a complementary Paid Sick Leave Rebate Program. More information is available online. This Regulation will be repealed on the day that is 90 days after the day on which it is filed with the registrar of regulations under the Regulations Act.
