On March 19, 2019, the federal government tabled its Budget 2019, “Investing in the Middle Class.” We are reviewing the Budget and an FTR Now highlighting initiatives of interest to employers, human resources professionals and pension plan administrators will be available shortly on our website.
Industry: Professional & Technical Services
WSIB and Chronic Mental Stress
In this Client Toolkit, we set out the statutory changes, the policy framework and a list of steps employers can take to minimize the risk of workplace stress.
Appellate Court Reviews “Family Status” Test
The British Columbia Court of Appeal recently clarified the meaning and scope of the term “family status” in Envirocon Environmental Services, ULC v. Suen. This case confirmed the Campbell River test, which imposes a higher standard for establishing discrimination than the often-cited Federal Court of Appeal test in Johnstone, adding to the “family status” interpretation…
Proposed Workplace Law Reforms in Bill 66 Now at Committee – Note Short Deadlines
On March 6, 2019, Bill 66, Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, 2019, was referred to the Standing Committee on General Government. The Committee will hold public hearings on the Bill in Toronto on Monday, March 18, 2019, from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. The deadline to submit requests to…
EI Changes – Parental Sharing Benefit Coming into Force on March 17, 2019
Changes to the Employment Insurance Act will come into effect on March 17, 2019 to implement the additional Parental Sharing Benefit announced in the 2018 Federal Budget. Additional employment insurance (EI) parental benefits (up to 5 weeks of standard parental benefits or up to 8 weeks of extended parental benefits) will be available to…
Pay Equity Compliance Checklist
This Client Toolkit is intended to help employers monitor pay equity compliance within their organization by providing a checklist of key compliance benchmarks that must be monitored regularly.
Notice of Intended Decision Considers Whether Vacation Pay Forms Part of Pensionable Earnings
The Ontario Superintendent of Financial Services (Superintendent) issued a Notice of Intended Decision (NOID) in late 2018 that considered whether vacation pay should be factored into a pension plan’s definition of pensionable earnings. The NOID indicates that, in the absence of clear exclusionary language, the Superintendent will interpret the phrase “base pay” to include vacation…
AODA Compliance Checklist
All organizations in Ontario which employ at least one employee are required to comply with a series of requirements under the standards established by the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) and the regulations promulgated under it. In this Checklist, we provide a general overview of an organization’s AODA compliance obligations, along with checklists to assist you in assessing your degree of compliance and the anticipated timing for future compliance deadlines.
Federal Government to Study Further Changes to Canada Labour Code
Following recent amendments to the Canada Labour Code, the federal Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour has announced the creation of an expert panel tasked with the study of additional matters relating to the “changing nature of work.” This expert panel is to report back to the Minister by June 30, 2019 on the…
Government Announces Consultation on Pay Transparency Reporting Requirements
On February 19, 2019, the Ministry of Labour invited feedback on its Pay Transparency Consultation Paper to assist it in the development of regulatory pay transparency reporting requirements under the Pay Transparency Act, 2018 (Act). The coming into force date of that Act was postponed indefinitely by Bill 57, Restoring Trust, Transparency and Accountability Act,…