On December 2, 2021, Bill 27, Working for Workers Act, 2021, received Royal Assent. We reviewed Bill 27 in detail in our FTR Now of October 26, 2021, Ontario Proposes Significant Changes to ESA and Other Employment-Related Legislation, as well as our FTR Now of December 1, 2021, Ontario Passes Bill 27, Working for Workers…
Business Operation: Ontario
Ontario Passes Bill 27, Working for Workers Act, As Amended at Committee
On November 30, 2021, the Ontario government passed Bill 27, Working for Workers Act, 2021.
The Bill will amend a number of statutes, including the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA), the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997….
Arbitrator Upholds Mandatory Vaccination Policy
On November 9, 2021, Arbitrator Von Veh upheld the mandatory vaccination policy (Policy) implemented by a security company, finding the company acted reasonably in implementing the Policy and that it did not breach the collective agreement. The award provides some helpful guidance for employers that have implemented similar policies. In United Food And Commercial Workers…
Ontario Proposes Minimum Wage Increase Starting January 1, 2022
On November 2, 2021, the Ontario government announced that it plans to introduce legislation that, if passed, would raise the general minimum wage from $14.35 to $15.00 per hour, effective January 1, 2022. Under the proposed legislation, the minimum wage rate for liquor servers (currently set at $12.55 per hour) would be eliminated. This means…
Ontario Court Denies Injunctive Relief Pending Action Challenging Employer’s Vaccination Policy
On October 29, 2021, Justice Dunphy of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice declined to extend emergency injunctive relief to a group of University Health Network (UHN) employees, seeking reprieve from UHN’s Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policy (Policy) which required employees to either become fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by October 22, 2021, or be terminated from…
Ontario Tables Legislation Regarding Right to Wear Poppy in Workplace During Remembrance Week
On October 28, 2021, the Ontario legislature tabled Bill 38, Remembrance Week Amendment Act, 2021 which, if passed, would amend the Remembrance Week Act, 2016 to provide every worker in Ontario the right to wear a poppy in the workplace during Remembrance Week. An exception would exist if wearing a poppy would pose a hazard…
Ontario Proposes Significant Changes to Long-Term Care Sector
On October 28, 2021, the Ontario government announced a substantial overhaul of the long-term care sector in Ontario, following on the report of the Long-Term Care Commission. On the same date, the government tabled Bill 37, Providing More Care, Protecting Seniors, and Building More Beds Act, 2021. If passed, Bill 37 would repeal the current…
Ontario Announces Long-Term Plan for Easing COVID-19 Measures
On October 22, 2021, the Ontario government announced its long-term plan for easing COVID-19-related public health and workplace safety measures, with the aim of lifting all restrictions by March 2022. The plan identifies a number of milestones, beginning October 25, 2021.
Appellate Court Finds Former Employee was Provided Notice of Agreement Terms; No Entitlement to Unvested Stock Options
In Battiston v. Microsoft Canada Inc., the Ontario Court of Appeal held that an employee who provided online acknowledgements that he had read the employer’s stock option agreement was bound by the provisions of that agreement (including the termination provisions), whether he had read them or not. Background Facts Mr. Battiston had been employed by…
Appellate Court Upholds Cause Termination for Sexual Harassment
The Ontario Court of Appeal has found that an employer had cause to terminate the employment of a senior employee who had sexually harassed a co-worker and refused to take the remedial steps required by the employer. It reversed a lower court decision which found that the employee had been wrongfully dismissed and awarded 20…