1008 Results

Human Resources Legislative Update

Ontario Passes Workplace Law Reforms

· 2 min read

On December 10, 2015, the Ontario government passed Bill 109, the Employment and Labour Statute Law Amendment Act, 2015 and Bill 144, the Budget Measures Act, 2015, two pieces of legislation that implement a number of reforms to various workplace laws. Among other things, Bill 109 amends: the labour relations provisions of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997 (“FPPA”) to incorporate…

Human Resources Legislative Update

On December 1, 2015, Bill 113, the Police Record Checks Reform Act, 2015, as amended by the Standing Committee on Justice Policy, passed at Third Reading. When proclaimed in force, this legislation will implement a new process governing requests for searches of the Canadian Police Information Centre databases, or other police databases, in connection with screening an…

Human Resources Legislative Update

On November 18, 2015, the Ontario government introduced Bill 144, the Budget Measures Act, 2015, omnibus legislation that would, if passed and among other things, implement reforms to construction labour relations, workplace safety and insurance indexing and to certain rules governing multi-employer pension asset transfers. The proposed Bill 144 changes include: Amending the construction industry provisions of…

Human Resources Legislative Update

Ontario Minimum Wage to Increase October 1, 2015

· 1 min read

On October 1, 2015, the general minimum wage in Ontario will increase from $11.00 to $11.25 an hour. This minimum wage applies to most employees. Minimum wage rates for students, liquor servers, hunting and fishing guides and homeworkers will increase on the same date. 

Case In Point

In a recent decision, R. v. ABS Machining Inc., the Ontario Court of Justice dismissed Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”) charges against an employer where the injured worker’s unexpected and unauthorized act led to his injury. The decision confirms that employers can succeed in defending charges on the basis of due diligence when workers…

FTR Now

An Update on WSIB Rate Framework Reform

· 5 min read

In March 2015, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (“WSIB”) released a preliminary Rate Framework (“Proposed Framework”) which, if adopted, would fundamentally change the way the WSIB classifies Schedule 1 employers and sets their premium rates (see our FTR Now of April 17, 2015 “WSIB Rate Framework Reform: Stakeholder Input Invited”). At the same time,…

Human Resources Legislative Update

On June 18, 2015, O. Reg. 147/15 amending O. Reg. 308/13 (Assets Transfers under section 80.1 of the Act) made under the Pension Benefits Act (“PBA”) came into force. O. Reg. 147/15 amends the date of the effective transfer of assets under section 80.1 from June 30, 2015 to a date not later than the…

Human Resources Legislative Update

On June 26, 2015, the Ontario government published draft regulations (the “Draft Regulations”) setting out the proposed rules governing the merger or conversion of single employer pension plans (“SEPPs”) to jointly sponsored pension plans (“JSPPs”) in the broader public sector (“BPS”). The draft regulations will support sections 80.4 and 81.0.1 of the Pension Benefits Act…