On November 14, 2022, the Ontario government tabled and passed Bill 35, Keeping Students in Class Repeal Act, 2022, which repeals Bill 28, Keeping Students in Class Act, 2022 and deems it never to have been in force. Bill 35 states that the collective agreements that were deemed to be in operation under subsection 5(1)…
Publication Name: Human Resources Legislative Update
Employers Take Note: Incoming Changes to Competition Act
Employers should take note of recent amendments made to the Competition Act (Act) by Bill C-19, Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1 which will come into force on June 23, 2023. The amendments make it a criminal offence for an employer to conspire, agree or arrange with an unaffiliated employer to fix, maintain, decrease or…
Ontario Makes Changes to COVID-19 Requirements in Long-Term Care Homes
Effective October 14, 2022, Ontario has made a number of changes to COVID-19 requirements in long-term care homes (LTC Homes), as set out in the document titled “COVID-19 guidance document for long-term care homes in Ontario.” Active screening for COVID-19 is no longer required when visitors and caregivers are entering a facility (although it remains…
Proposed Regulation Requiring Federally Regulated Employers to Provide Menstrual Products Published for Comment
On October 15, 2022, the federal government published a proposed Regulation Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Canada Labour Code (Menstrual Products). The proposed Regulation would amend the sanitation provisions in the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (OHS Regulations) made under Part II (Occupational Health and Safety) of the Canada Labour Code. The proposed Regulation…
Federal Government Launches Consultations to Improve the Collective Bargaining Process
On October 19, 2022, the federal government announced that it is seeking public feedback regarding its plan to improve the collective bargaining process. The government states that the consultation was launched in response to its commitment to introduce legislation by the end of 2023 to prohibit the use of replacement workers during a strike or…
COVID-19 and WSIB Claim Costs
Public Health Ontario publishes weekly epidemiological summaries regarding COVID-19 in Ontario. The most recent report, published October 7, 2022, noted a gradual increase in case trends and percent positivity over the past three weeks. Current projections suggest that weekly case numbers may continue to rise over the coming weeks. Given forecasted increases, here is a…
Federal Government Publishes Proposed Canada Labour Code Regulations Regarding Reimbursement of Work-Related Expenses, and More
On October 1, 2022, the federal government published two proposed Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Canada Labour Code (Regulations) amending the Canada Labour Standards Regulations. The Regulations pertain to the reimbursement of work-related expenses and employee information and the service of documents and regular rate of wages. The proposed Regulations have been published…
Ontario Seeking Feedback on Plan to Expand Benefits Coverage
On September 27, 2022, the Ontario government announced that it is seeking public feedback on its plan to expand benefits like health and dental to workers who need coverage, including those in part-time and precarious jobs, in sectors such as retail, hospitality and the gig economy. This call for feedback follows the government’s appointment of…
Reminder: Employers to Have Electronic Monitoring Policies in Place by October 11, 2022
The Ontario government recently passed Bill 88, Working for Workers Act, 2022. Among other things, Bill 88 amends the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) to require employers with 25 or more employees to have a written policy with respect to electronic monitoring of employees. (For more information about Bill 88, see our FTR Now of…
Employers Take Note: New Obligations under Temporary Foreign Workers Program Now in Effect
Amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations made under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act which came into effect on September 26, 2022 place new obligations on employers who employ temporary foreign workers (TFWs). Significantly, these obligations include the requirement for an employer to commit to having an employment agreement in place with the…