Further Employment Standards Changes in Ontario: Bill 66

Piccolo Heath LLP

On December 6, 2018 the Ontario government announced it was introducing omnibus legislation, Bill 66, Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, 2018, that, if passed, would make additional key changes to the Employment Standards Act, 2000. Unlike the changes under Bill 47 to roll back many of the Bill 148 changes or under Bill 57 to eliminate the gender pay parity proposals, these changes remove long-standing administrative requirements relating to hours of work exemptions and employee notifications.

The proposed changes are outlined in this report.

The Blurry Status of Pay Transparency

Jennifer Heath

Over the last few weeks, much of the focus of Ontario’s employment law community has been on the proposed repeal of many of the changes arising from Bill 148.  However, the Ontario government has also quietly taken aim at the pay transparency legislation that the Liberal government announced and passed just before the June election.

We summarized the highlights of the Pay Transparency Act, 2018 in Patrizia Piccolo’s blog in March (which was just before the bill was passed and became law).  This act was part of a broader proposal to encourage women’s participation in the workplace.

Goodbye to Bill 148?

Patrizia Piccolo

On October 23, 2018, the Ontario government announced the Making Ontario Open for Business Act (otherwise referred to as Bill 47). Bill 47 represents the first concrete measure the Progressive Conservative Government has taken to repeal many of the amendments introduced in Bill 148, the Fair Jobs, Better Workplaces Act, which the previous Liberal government had passed in late 2017. Below, we have outlined the various proposed changes.

Canada Comes Out of the Weeds

Cynthia Ingram

With the passing of Bill C-45, the Cannabis Act, by the Senate on June 19, 2018, Canada becomes the first Western country, and only the second country in the world, to legalize recreational marijuana.  The Bill itself still awaits the final step of Royal Assent to officially become the law of the land.  This is expected to occur within the next few days. Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the law will come into effect on October 17, 2018, allowing time for the provinces and territories to prepare for retail/online sales. In the meantime, Canadians in all jurisdictions are required to continue to follow the existing law and maintain the status quo.

Public Holiday Pay Calculations

Patrizia Piccolo

Prior to the enactment of the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act 2017 (Bill 148), public holiday rules were the source of the most complaints to the MOL. While change was welcome, many employers in Ontario have questioned the wisdom behind the changes in calculating Public Holiday Pay that were ultimately imposed through Bill 148. There has been significant confusion and payroll system overhaul required to comply with the new formula.

Documentary Requests Related to Employee Absences

Patrizia Piccolo

The Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”) underwent a substantial set of amendments on January 1, 2018 when Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 (“Bill 148”) was enacted.

Some of the more significant amendments were made to the leave of absence provisions.  These changes include: increasing the duration of some leaves, adding new types of leave, updating the pre-conditions for certain leaves and limiting what documents employers may request from employees.