Both the Working for Workers Four Act, 2024 and Working for Workers Five Act, 2024 received Royal Assent earlier this year, with many of the key provisions to be proclaimed in force at a later date. This has now occurred and accompanying regulations have been enacted to provide additional obligations and, in some cases, clarify…
Tag: Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (WSIA)
WSIB to Redistribute $2 Billion to Ontario Employers
The Ontario government and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) have announced that eligible Schedule 1 employers will receive a credit to their WSIB accounts in February 2025. The WSIB has noted that strong financial and operational factors have led to a surplus beyond the WSIB reserve factor, triggering a payout of the surplus…
WSIB to Add New Classification Applicable to Temporary Employment Agencies
A recent amendment to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 regulations has resulted in the creation of a new Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) classification which will allow temporary employment agencies (TEAs) to report the supply of administrative, clerical and knowledge-based labour under one classification for premium-setting purposes. This new classification will take…
Looking Ahead to 2024: A Newsletter for Social Services Employers
Dear Friends, As we welcome 2024, we are back with another edition of Reaching Out. Over the last year, we have seen our social services clients continue to deal with budget challenges and labour shortages. Many are providing permanent and/or hybrid remote work arrangements, where possible, to attract and retain employees. Accordingly, we provide a…
Ontario Introduces Working for Workers Four Act, 2023
On November 14, 2023, the Ontario government introduced Bill 149, Working for Workers Four Act, 2023. Bill 149, if passed, would amend several statutes, including the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 (WSIA). This FTR Now reviews some of Bill 149’s key features of particular interest to employers….
HRTO Finds Availability of Different Remedies under a Different Proceeding not Determinative of Whether Substance of HRTO Application had been Appropriately Dealt With
In Green v National Steel Car Ltd., the Human Rights Tribunal Ontario (HRTO) found that the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal (WSIAT) has the direct authority to apply the Human Rights Code (Code) and to determine the appropriate accommodation of medical restrictions. The application before the HRTO on the same issue, therefore, had been…
Ontario Proposes Significant Changes to ESA and Other Employment-Related Legislation
On October 25, 2021, the Ontario government tabled Bill 27, Working for Workers Act, 2021, omnibus legislation which, if passed, would make significant amendments to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA). These include requiring employers with 25 or more employees to have a policy on disconnecting from work, prohibiting employers and employees from entering into…
Ontario Launches First Aid Modernization Consultation
The Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development (Ministry) has launched a “First Aid Modernization” consultation on transferring the responsibility for first aid from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) to the Ministry. Currently, the WSIB administers Regulation 1101, First Aid Requirements, made under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997. Regulation 1101 applies…
Private Member’s Bill Introduces COVID-19 as a Presumptive Occupational Disease under the WSIA
On May 19, 2020, Bill 191, Workplace Safety and Insurance Amendment Act (Presumption Respecting COVID-19), 2020 was tabled by a Private Member and carried on First Reading in the Ontario Legislature.
OMHRA Spring 2020 ECHO Newsletter Features Articles Authored by Hicks Morley Lawyers
The Spring 2020 issue of OMHRA’s ECHO newsletter features two articles authored by Hicks Morley lawyers. In the article “Court Upholds Decision Finding Firefighter’s Heart Attack Was Not Work-related,” Jessica Toldo and Amanda Cohen discuss a recent decision of the Ontario Divisional Court, where it dismissed an application for judicial review of a decision by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Tribunal (WSIAT) denying benefits under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 to the estate of a firefighter who died of a heart attack in 2010.