Reaching Out – Fourteenth Edition

Dear Friends, Welcome to our Winter 2019 edition of Reaching Out. The last 18 months have been a tumultuous time in employment law in Ontario. We saw the introduction of sweeping changes to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 and Labour Relations Act, 1995 in January 2018, only to see many of them repealed in January…

Appellate Court Considers Employment Issues Arising out of a Termination Post-Sale of Business

In Kerzner v American Iron and Metal Company Inc., the Ontario Court of Appeal considered a number of complex issues arising out of a sale of business and successive employment contracts entered into after that sale. The Court provided guidance on what can and cannot be agreed to during those transitions and how releases should…

FTR Quarterly – Issue 12

In This Issue: Year in Review – Key Human Resources Law Developments of 2018, The Road Ahead: Human Resources Trends and Issues to Watch in 2019 and more!

OLRB Finds Global Payroll not to be Considered in Calculation of ESA Severance Pay

In Doug Hawkes v. Max Aicher (North America) Limited, the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) addressed the issue of whether an employer’s global payroll should be considered in determining an employee’s entitlement to severance pay under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA). The OLRB determined that global payroll should not be included for the purposes…

Ministry of Labour Publishes New ESA Poster

The Ministry of Labour has published a revised version of the ESA poster (Version 8.0) to reflect the recent changes to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 made by Bill 47, Making Ontario Open for Business Act, 2018. Employers are required to post the poster in a conspicuous place in the workplace, among other things. Learn more in this FTR Now.

Ontario Government Files Regulations Further to Bill 47 Changes to ESA

On December 14, 2018, the Ontario government filed five regulations made under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) further to the repeal of certain provisions of Bill 148, Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 by Bill 47, Making Ontario Open for Business Act, 2018. These changes are in effect January 1, 2019. O. Reg. 498/18…

More Changes to Workplace Laws Are on the Horizon for Ontario Employers

On December 6, 2018, Bill 57, Restoring Trust, Transparency and Accountability Act, 2018 passed Third Reading and received Royal Assent. On the same date, the government tabled Bill 66, Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, 2018, omnibus legislation which, if passed, will make significant amendments to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA), the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (LRA), the Pension Benefits Act (PBA) and other statutes.

Legislation Reversing Parts of Bill 148 Passes

On November 21, 2018, Bill 47, the Making Ontario Open for Business Act, 2018, as amended by the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs, passed Third Reading…