Shortly before the Ontario legislature took its summer break, it quietly introduced the next instalment of working for workers legislation, Bill 30, Working for Workers Seven Act, 2025. On November 27, 2025, the legislation was passed, amending the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the “ESA”), the Occupational Health and Safety Act (the “OHSA”), and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 (the “WSIA”), among other statutes. This PH Report summarizes some of the key changes to these three statutes.
This PH Report highlights three recent cases have revisited the question of termination provisions that contain language allowing an employer to terminate “at any time”, each drawing very different conclusions. Until clearer guidance emerges, caution is key. If your contracts haven’t been reviewed recently, now is the time.
There is a new Long-Term Illness Leave that will affect workplace policies and strategies regarding employee absences. This PH Report dives into details and breaks down what Ontario employers need to do as a result of this new leave.
This past summer, we wrote about some of the key amendments to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”) and the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”) triggered by the introduction of one bill, and the passing of another. Now, the Ontario government is putting a bow on loose ends just in time for the holiday season. The government passed the Working for Workers Five Act, 2024 on October 28, 2024 (“Bill 190”), after passing the Working for Workers Four Act, 2024 (“Bill 149”) earlier in March.
This PH Report will briefly outline some of the key changes to the ESA and OHSA in 2024 and when these changes take effect, if they have not already. It will also briefly highlight some of the provisions in the brand-new Working for Workers Six Act, 2024, announced on November 27, 2024.
In recent months, the Ontario government has proposed several amendments to legislation affecting employers in Ontario. In addition to the proposed legislative updates, the courts have also released key decisions in the last few months. This PH Report summarizes the proposed amendments outlined in the Working for Workers Five Act, 2024 and three significant decisions regarding frustration of contract, mental distress damages, and the failure to mitigate damages.
This fall, we saw many updates to legislation in Ontario, and just when employers thought they would catch a break in keeping up with new additions, the Government of Ontario announced a flurry of additional changes before the winter break. This PH Report summarizes more announced (and anticipated) changes coming to an Ontario workplace near you.
A new school year has begun and the days already seem to be getting shorter. Soon leaves will turn and change from green to the beautiful colours of fall. Thought will turn to family gatherings and traditions for Thanksgiving, and to costumes and candies for Halloween. But with October upon us, employers must also turn their mind to several changes in the law which directly impact them.
In this PH Report, we are share an update regarding the Competition Act, a piece of legislation that we rarely handle. New employment-related provisions are coming into force in June, which will impact all Canadian employers and their internal and external HR practices.
In this PH Report:
Case Updates
Employment Standards Act, 2000: Things You Should Know
Ministry of Labour Updates
Legislative Updates: What’s New
In March 2020, the Ontario government created the “deemed” Infectious Disease Emergency Leave under the ESA. Because of the deemed IDEL, non-unionized employees were deemed to be on a job-protected leave of absence if their hours were reduced or eliminated by the employer for COVID-related reasons. The “deemed” IDEL is now set to expire on July 30, 2022.
In this PH Report:
What the Easing of COVID-19 Restrictions Means for Employers in Ontario;
Mandatory Vaccination Policies;
Update on Non-Competition Agreements;
Ministry of Labour Orders: A Cautionary Tale for Employers; and
Ministry of Labour – What’s New
In this PH Report:
In this PH Report:
The Ontario government has once again extended the deemed Infectious Disease Emergency Leave (IDEL), this time until January 1, 2022.
The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) has delivered some much-needed guidance about COVID-19 vaccine mandates in the workplace in the newly released policy statement.
In this PH Report:
New Federal Holiday (Sept 30 - National Day for Truth and Reconciliation);
Changes to Federal Bereavement Leave;
Changes to COVID-19 Programs; and
Case Law Update.
In this PH Report:
Subsidized Paid IDEL Days;
Constructive dismissal during the COVID-19 pandemic (the Coutinho v Ocular Health Centre Ltd. case); and
Updates from the Ministry of Labour.
In this PH Report:
A recent class order in Toronto was issued with the purpose of reinforcing the importance of COVID-19 protocols and requirements for workplaces experiencing an active outbreak of COVID-19.
As many workplaces continue to have employees working remotely, it’s important to remember that their home is now their workplace. We have put together a short checklist to remind you of some practical and legal considerations for your Remote Work Policy.
From COVID-19 guidelines and announcements, to legislative and regulatory amendments – there is a lot of information to process. In this PH Report, we discuss the current COVID-19 restrictions in Ontario with a focus on how they will affect Ontario workplaces.
On July 24, 2020, the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020, came into force. This Act ended the COVID-19 declaration of emergency in Ontario (while providing for the extension of particular Orders made pursuant to the Declaration), effective that day. On September 3, 2020, the government extended the deemed Infectious Disease Emergency Leave (deemed “IDEL”) under the ESA Regulation to January 2, 2021. It had previously been set to expire on September 4, 2020.
As stay-at-home orders and restrictions start to lift and more businesses begin to open and resume “regular” operations, it’s important for employers to start putting return-to-work plans and protocols in place. In this 4 part blog series, we discuss employer return-to-work considerations in the post COVID-19 era.
Perhaps even more startling than the spread of COVID-19 across the globe is the speed with which things change in an effort to “flatten the curve”. These daily, and sometimes hourly, changes put pressure on both employers and employees. Important for Ontario employers, the provincial government has announced its intention to amend the ESA to provide immediate job protection for employees who have received medical or public health advice and are quarantined or isolated due to COVID-19 symptoms or diagnosis, or who have been away from work to care for children because of school or daycare closures, since January 25, 2020.