Human Resources Legislative Update
Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act, 2022 in Force July 1, 2025
Date: September 6, 2024
The Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act, 2022 (Act) was enacted in April 2022 under the Working For Workers Act, 2022, but was not declared in force at that time. On September 5, 2024, the Ontario government proclaimed the Act, and its associated Regulation will come into force on July 1, 2025.
The Act establishes minimum wage and other rights for workers who perform “digital platform work,” which the Act defines as “the provision of for payment ride share, delivery, courier or other prescribed services by workers who are offered work assignments by an operator through the use of a digital platform.” An “operator” is defined as “a person that facilitates, through the use of a digital platform, the performance of digital platform work by workers,” but expressly excludes temporary help agencies (as defined in the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA)).
The Act will apply to any worker who performs digital platform work, regardless of whether they are employees at law. That is, the rights afforded under the new Act will also apply to contractors.
Worker Rights and Entitlements
Key worker rights and entitlements under the Act include:
- a worker who performs digital platform work will be entitled to the minimum wage rate payable under the ESA. Compliance with this obligation is to be determined with respect to each work assignment, and the Act specifies that tips and other gratuities are not to be included in determining compliance
- an operator will be required to establish a recurring pay period and a recurring pay day, and must pay all amounts earned during each pay period (including all tips or other gratuities the operator collected) no later than the pay day for that period
- an operator will be prohibited from withholding, deducting, or causing a worker to return amounts earned by the worker or the worker’s tips or other gratuities, unless authorized to do so under the Act
- the Act and its Regulation set out a range of information that an operator will be required to provide in writing to a worker and the timeframes within which this information must be provided. This includes information related to pay calculation, tips and gratuities, performance ratings and work assignments
- an operator will be prohibited from removing a worker’s access to the operator’s digital platform unless the operator has provided the worker with a written explanation of why access is being removed. Where a worker is to be removed for a period of 24 hours or more, the operator must give the worker two weeks’ written notice of the removal, . Two weeks’ written notice of removal is not required if the worker:
- is guilty of wilful misconduct
- is removed due to public safety concerns
- is unable to legally perform digital platform work under applicable federal or provincial legislation, or municipal by-law
- must otherwise be removed as required by law
- all digital platform work-related disputes between an operator and a worker must be resolved in Ontario
- a worker will be entitled to protection against reprisal as a result of the worker making inquiries about or exercising their rights under the Act or participating with the enforcement of the Act
- operators and workers cannot contract out of or waive any of the worker rights set out in the Act, unless a provision in a contract or in another act that directly relates to the same subject matter provides a greater benefit to the worker
Additional Provisions
In addition to setting out the rights of digital platform workers, the Act :
- will require an operator to record, retain, and keep readily available for inspection prescribed information with respect to each worker who accesses their digital platform (e.g. worker names and addresses, as well as any dates on which workers were given access to the platform for the purpose of performing work), Such records must be retained for three years after the worker’s access to the platform is terminated
- establishes the details and circumstances under which a director of a corporation will be jointly and severally liable for amounts owing to a digital platform worker
Compliance and Enforcement
The government will appoint compliance officers who will have powers and duties under the Act similar to those of an employment standards officer under the ESA, including the power to enter and inspect any place in order to investigate a possible contravention of the Act. The Act also includes provisions on the complaints process, collections, and offences, which are also similar to the provisions of the ESA.
Key Takeaways
The Act will apply to a limited range of organizations in Ontario which facilitate digital platform work for workers. It does not apply to employers more generally if they do not operate such services.
Any organization that is an “operator” under the Act should start to prepare now to ensure they are able to comply with these new obligations as of July 1, 2025.
For any questions about the Act, please contact your regular Hicks Morley lawyer.
The article in this client update provides general information and should not be relied on as legal advice or opinion. This publication is copyrighted by Hicks Morley Hamilton Stewart Storie LLP and may not be photocopied or reproduced in any form, in whole or in part, without the express permission of Hicks Morley Hamilton Stewart Storie LLP. ©
