“Workers covered by….(WCB) legislation would be unable generally to sue their employer but would have to utilize that mechanism, although Workers’ Compensation branches in different provinces have issued bulletins and have different policies respecting who might be covered.
Given the two-year limitation period, we may not see these lawsuits for some time, but a harbinger may be a case involving Walmart Inc. Management at that store had been told by several workers that there were safety issues, but it did little to address them.
A Walmart employee in Illinois contracted COVID-19 and died. As result, his estate is suing the retail giant for several million dollars. There’s no reason why this same lawsuit could not occur and be ultimately successful in Canada, subject to workers’ compensation legislation.”
—Howard Levitt, senior partner of Levitt LLP, employment and labour lawyers.
