734 Results

New Workplace Violence Amendments to Ontario’s Occupational Health And Safety Act Take Effect

On June 15, 2010, Bill 168, the Occupational ­Health and Safety Amendment Act (Violence and Harassment in the Workplace), 2009, came into effect. As reported in our FTR Now of December 10, 2009, Bill 168 requires employers to develop policies and programs to address workplace violence and­ harassment a­nd to assess the risk of violence…

FTR Now: Federal Legislation Introduced to Create “PIPEDA 2.0”

As previously reported, on May 25, 2010, the federal government introduced two Bills that if passed, would significantly amend PIPEDA: Bill C-29, the Safeguarding Canadians’ Personal Information Act and Bill C-28, the Fighting Internet and Wireless Spam Act. In our FTR Now of June 9. 2010, we summarize the major changes to PIPEDA outlined in…

Bill Amending Employment Standards Act, 2000 Passes at Second Reading, Sent to Committee

On June 3, 2010, Bill 68, the Open For Business Act, 2010, carried at Second Reading and was Ordered referred to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs. As previously reported, Bill 68 is omnibus legislation that would amend Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000 to allow the Director of Employment Standards to require claimants…

Post-Secondary Legislation Passes Third Reading

On June 3, 2010, Bill 43, the Post-Secondary Education Statute Law Amendment Act, 2010, carried at Third Reading.  As previously reported, this omnibus legislation amends Ontario’s Post-Secondary Education Choice and Excellence Act, 2000, the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005, and the Ontario College of Art & Design Act, 2002.

Federal Amendments to PIPEDA Introduced

On May 25, 2010, the federal government introduced two Bills that, if passed, would significantly amend PIPEDA: Bill C-29, the Safeguarding Canadians’ Personal Information Act and Bill C-28, the Fighting Internet and Wireless Spam Act. Bill C-29 would: specify the elements of valid consent for the collection, use or disclosure of personal information; permit the…

New Legislation to Amend Employment Standards Act, 2000

On May 17, 2010, the Ontario government introduced Bill 68, the Open For Business Act, 2010, omnibus legislation that would amend various acts, including the Employment Standards Act, 2000. If passed, these amendments would in part: allow the Director of Employment Standards to require claimants to provide specific information and let their employer know about…

Post-Secondary Legislation Referred to Committee

On May 11, 2010, Bill 43, the Post-Secondary Education Statute Law Amendment Act, 2010. If passed, this omnibus legislation would amend various Acts as follows: the Post-Secondary Education Choice and Excellence Act, 2000 to refine definitions of terms such as “degree” and “educational institution”, the application of the Act to defined persons, and certain prohibitions….

Municipalities Exposed To Construction Collective Agreements

In a recent decision, the Ontario Labour Relations Board (“OLRB”) held that key non-construction employer provisions of the Ontario Labour Relations Act, 1995 (the “Act”) were unconstitutional. In this FTR Now, we discuss how the decision could have an impact on the ability of municipalities to tender construction work. BACKGROUND The construction industry labour relations…

Effective Pandemic Planning

Employers have a general obligation under health and safety law to take all reasonable precautions in the circumstances to protect their workers. What does this entail, however, in a pandemic situation, such as the one currently facing employers? In our May 1, 2009 FTR Now – “Employer Bulletin: Influenza A(H1N1)” – we discussed some of…