Following the release last month of draft Regulations, the Ontario government has now adopted amendments…
Industry: Transportation & Warehousing
Finalized Regulations Extend Temporary Solvency Funding Relief in Ontario
Effective July 1, 2016, amendments to Regulation 909 first proposed on…
ORPP Act Passes Third Reading as Amended by Committee
On June 2, 2016, Bill 186, the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan Act (Strengthening Retirement Security for Ontarians), 2016 (ORPP Act, 2016) passed…
Summer ESA and OHSA Inspection Blitzes to Focus on New and Young Workers
Among other recently announced initiatives, the Ministry of Labour is conducting two province-wide enforcement and prevention inspection blitzes…
Preparing for the ORPP
Editor’s Note: Bill 186 passed Third Reading on June 2, 2016, as amended by the Standing Committee on Social Policy. Please read about the amendments in our blog post, ORPP Act Passes Third Reading as Amended by Committee. The Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (ORPP) was first announced in the 2014 Ontario Budget as a major…
Accrual of Service or Seniority Based on “Days Worked” is Not Discriminatory, Tribunal Rules
The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) recently issued a decision of particular interest to employers with groups of employees who, although covered by a collective agreement, accrue service…
Ontario Pension Solvency Funding Framework Under Review
Ontario registered defined benefit (DB) pension plans must be funded on the greater of a going concern or solvency basis…
Federal Reforms Introduced to Prohibit Discrimination on Basis of Gender Identity or Gender Expression
On May 17, 2016, the federal government introduced Bill C-16, An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code, proposed legislation adding gender identity and gender expression to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA). If passed, Bill C-16 would protect transgender and gender-diverse…
Full Payout to End of Fixed Term Contract in Case of Early Termination, No Duty to Mitigate
In Howard v. Benson Group Inc. (The Benson Group Inc.), the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that in the absence of an express provision specifying a pre-determined notice period or pay in lieu (for early termination without cause), on the early termination of a fixed term contract an employee is entitled to the wages the…
Human Rights Tribunal Rules that Miscarriage is a Disability
In a recent decision, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (Tribunal) found that the Applicant, who had suffered a miscarriage, had a disability within the meaning of the Human Rights Code (Code). While this decision has garnered much attention in the media, its potential significance for employers going forward may not result from the particular…