Ministry Releases Code of Practice to Guide Employers in New Workplace Harassment Obligations

On September 8, 2016, changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) will come into force. The amendments require employers to develop policies and programs to prevent harassment, including sexual harassment, in the workplace. The Ministry of Labour has now finalized its “Code of Practice to Address Workplace Harassment under Ontario’s Occupational Health and…

Changing Workplaces Review – Personal Emergency Leave

On July 27, 2016, we circulated an FTR Now advising clients of the release of the Interim Report of the Special Advisors who are conducting the Changing Workplaces Review (Review). In this, our first follow-up FTR Now, we will focus on Personal Emergency Leave (PEL) under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) as that entitlement is being singled out for earlier consideration in the Review…

Changing Workplaces Review – Interim Report Issued

Since May 2015, two government-appointed Special Advisors – Mr. Justice John Murray and Mr. Michael Mitchell – have been undertaking the Changing Workplaces Review (Review) to consider the changing nature of the workplace, the causes behind those changes, and whether the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (LRA) and the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) need to be amended to meet challenges created by the changes…

Marshall Consultation Paper on Ontario Pension Solvency Funding Framework Released

Ontario registered defined benefit (DB) pension plans must be funded on the greater of a going concern or solvency basis, as we outlined in our recent FTR Now Ontario Pension Solvency Funding Framework Under Review. Due to the recent, yet prolonged, low-interest rate environment, most DB plans are in a deficit position on a solvency basis, requiring many employers to make large special payments to fund the deficits over a five-year period…