Dear Friends, Welcome to our Winter 2019 edition of Reaching Out. The last 18 months have been a tumultuous time in employment law in Ontario. We saw the introduction of sweeping changes to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 and Labour Relations Act, 1995 in January 2018, only to see many of them repealed in January…
Industry: Government Ministries & Agencies (Federal and Provincial)
Amendments to Complaints and Appeals Provisions of the Canada Labour Code to Come into Force on April 1, 2019
The federal government has proclaimed April 1, 2019 as the coming into force date for certain provisions[1] of Bill C-44, the Budget Implementation Act 2017, No. 1 which amend a number of provisions in the Canada Labour Code. For details on the changes to be implemented under Bill C-44, refer to our Federal Post article…
WSIB Issues New Policy on Medical Cannabis
The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) has issued Policy 17-01-10 Cannabis for Medical Purposes (Policy) which will come into effect on March 1, 2019. The WSIB has previously covered the cost of medical cannabis in some circumstances, primarily for the relief of pain in accordance with section 33 of the Workplace Safety and Insurance…
Federal Government Proposes Legislative Amendments to Address Salary Overpayments
On January 15, 2019 the federal government announced proposed amendments to the Income Tax Act (ITA), Employment Insurance Act (EI Act) and Canada Pension Plan (CPP) that would more readily facilitate the correction of salary overpayments made to employees.
Workplace Law in Canada
Workplace law in Canada operates in a significantly different way than workplace law in the United States. This short primer sets out the main features of Canadian workplace law to enable American legal counsel to understand the basic differences and ask further questions.
Ministry of Labour Publishes New ESA Poster
The Ministry of Labour has published a revised version of the ESA poster (Version 8.0) to reflect the recent changes to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 made by Bill 47, Making Ontario Open for Business Act, 2018. Employers are required to post the poster in a conspicuous place in the workplace, among other things. Learn more in this FTR Now.
Tribunal Finds that Denial of Coverage for Medical Cannabis under Employer’s Benefit Plan is not Discriminatory
The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal (the Tribunal) recently held that the decision to deny coverage for medical cannabis coverage under an employer’s benefit plan is not discrimination under the Ontario Human Rights Code (Code) when the decision to deny coverage is unrelated to an applicant’s disability or another protected ground. In Rivard v. Essex (County),…
Ontario Government Files Regulations Further to Bill 47 Changes to ESA
On December 14, 2018, the Ontario government filed five regulations made under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) further to the repeal of certain provisions of Bill 148, Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 by Bill 47, Making Ontario Open for Business Act, 2018. These changes are in effect January 1, 2019. O. Reg. 498/18…
Senate Passes Bill Proposing Changes to Canada Labour Code and Implementation of Federal Pay Equity Scheme
On December 10, 2018, Bill C-86, Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 2, passed Third Reading in the Senate without amendment and is now awaiting Royal Assent. As we reported in our Federal Post of November 2, 2018, Bill C-86 will make significant changes to the Canada Labour Code and will introduce a new federal Pay…
Potential Liability for Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
This is a time of increased vigilance for inappropriate or unlawful conduct in the workplace, including with respect to sexual harassment and sexual assault. Who can be potentially liable in these situations? Learn more in this Raising the Bar.