Emergency Orders Made Regarding Municipal Work Deployment and Staffing in Light of COVID-19

On April 16, 2020, the provincial government made an Order under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA), O. Reg. 157/20 Work Deployment Measure for Municipalities, which authorizes municipalities to take any reasonably necessary measures with respect to work redeployment and staffing in order to prevent, reduce or mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on a specific list of critical municipal services (Critical Services).

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.

Mandatory Retirement Upheld for Suppression Fire Fighters: HRTO Clarifies Accommodation Obligations

In its recent decision, Corrigan v. Mississauga (City), the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (“HRTO”) considered whether a municipal employer had a positive obligation to consider requests for individual exceptions to the mandatory retirement policy of age 60 for suppression fire fighters and to work with those fire fighters to develop a medical fitness testing…