On June 1, 2017, the Ontario government introduced Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 (Bill 148), its highly anticipated response to the Final Report from the Changing Workplaces Review. If passed, Bill 148 would introduce a range of changes to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) and the Labour Relations Act, 1995…
Tag: Employment Standards Act
Ontario Proposes Legislative Overhaul of Labour Relations Act, 1995 in Bill 148 – Are you Prepared?
The provincial government has wasted little time in responding to the Final Report of the Special Advisors under Ontario’s Changing Workplaces Review (Final Report). On June 1, 2017, the government introduced Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017, legislation that if passed, will implement significant reforms to both the Employment Standards Act, 2000…
Ontario Tables Bill to Amend Employment and Labour Laws
On June 1, 2017, the Ontario government introduced Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017, legislation which, if passed, will make significant amendments to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) and the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (LRA). On the same date, the Bill was referred to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs….
Ontario to Introduce Significant Amendments to Employment and Labour Laws
On May 30, 2017, the Ontario government announced its intention to introduce The Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 (Act), omnibus legislation proposing a series of broad ranging, significant amendments to Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000 and Labour Relations Act, 1995. According to the government’s announcement, the Act will contain a package of proposed legislative…
Changing Workplaces Review Final Report – Focus on Employment Standards
In this, our third update related to the Changing Workplaces Review Final Report (Final Report), we focus our discussion on the recommendations related to the Employment Standards Act, 2000. While many of the recommendations relate to proposed changes to specific standards, the Final Report contains a strong emphasis on compliance measures, comprised of both education…
Changing Workplaces Review Final Report – Focus on the Labour Relations Act, 1995
In this update related to the Final Report of the Special Advisors under Ontario’s Changing Workplaces Review (Final Report), we focus on the recommendations made by the Special Advisors regarding changes to the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (LRA). While some of the key issues we identify in our discussion overlap with recommendations relating to the…
Changing Workplaces Review – Final Report Issued
Earlier today, the government issued the long-awaited final report from the Changing Workplaces Review, entitled An Agenda for Workplace Rights (Final Report), which was prepared by the government-appointed Special Advisors Mr. Justice John Murray and Mr. Michael Mitchell. The Special Advisors were mandated to consider the changing nature of the workplace, the causes behind those…
L’examen portant sur l’évolution des milieux de travail – Publication du Rapport final
Le 23 mai 2017, le gouvernement a publié le très attendu rapport final découlant de l’Examen portant sur l’évolution des milieux de travail. Ce rapport, intitulé Un programme pour les droits en milieu de travail (le « Rapport final »), a été préparé par les conseillers spéciaux nommés par le gouvernement, soit M. le juge John Murray…
Recent Minimum Standards Cases of Note
In this Minimum Standards Monitor, we discuss two recent cases of interest to employers. In the first, an arbitrator found that an employee returning from maternity/parental leave was not entitled to the exact same work conditions which she left, even though the original job still existed. A comparable replacement position was sufficient…
Fixed-Term Contract Termination Provision Violates ESA, Says Appeal Court
The Ontario Court of Appeal has again weighed in on the issue of termination provisions in employment contracts. By way of background, we recently reported on the February 2017 decision of the Court of Appeal in Wood v Fred Deeley Imports Ltd. In that case, the Court reversed a motion judge’s conclusion that a termination…